NEW DELHI: The Centre on Saturday released the pending instalment of grants to states under the 14th Finance Commission that had been withheld as local elections had not been held.Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on twitter that the amount released totalled Rs 5,570 crore with Rs 940 crore for rural local bodies and Rs 1,629 crore for urban local bodies. “The amounts have already been credited to the accounts of the respective state governments,” Sitharaman tweeted.The FM said this has been done to ensure that basic services provided by local bodies are not affected at this time. “Due to Covid-19, the local bodies have to especially focus on providing basic civic services and ensure cleanliness. She said the amounts to Andhra Pradesh Nagaland , Odisha, Tamil Nadu have been released for urban and rural local bodies wherever applicable.The services provided by local bodies against the backdrop of the Covid-19 outbreak is critical in keeping the public places clean and the funds will help bolster the fight against the virus outbreak.