Pending bills to Gram Panchayats, Mandal and Zilla Parishads rocks Telangana assembly

A view of Telangana Legislative Assembly premises. File
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

Clearance of pending bills to Gram Panchayats, Mandal and Zilla Parishads rocked the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Monday (December 16, 2024) with Bharat Rashtra Samtihi (BRS) member T. Harish Rao alleging that the Government released dues pertaining to “big contractors” and ignored sarpanches who are facing acute crisis for want of funds.

The second day of the third Legislative Assembly resumed on Monday, after it was adjourned the previous Monday (December 9, 2024).

The issue which figured during the Question Hour in the House resulted in heated arguments between the Treasury and Opposition Benches. The main Opposition BRS staged a walk out in protest accusing the government of dilly dallying on release of funds to gram panchayats one year after assuming charge.

The issue started with Panchayat Raj Minister Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka claiming that a total of ₹691.93 crore was due to be paid to sarpanches in the State up to November this year. The Government was taking steps to repay the amounts soon.

₹1,200 crore to big conteactors cleared: Harish Rao

Mr. Rao alleged that the government was unrelenting in spite of the sarpanches calling for aprotest against the delays in release of funds. The government, at the same time, cleared dues of ₹1,200 crore to big contractors starving the local bodies whose representatives were not even paid the monthly honorarium due to them.

This apart, the government had diverted the funds received under the employment guarantee scheme, XV Finance Commission grants and other resources causing severe hardship to sarpanches. He claimed that the previous BRS Government released ₹275 crore every month to gram panchayats under the Palle Pragati scheme to ensure that there was no hindrance to the works launched by them. The Congress Government had set aside Palle Pragati and had not released any funds to the local bodies.

Sarpanches tenure ended in February: Minister

Ms. Seethakka said the tenure of the sarpanches ended in February and the pending bills were the legacy inherited by the Congress Government from the previous BRS rule. “There are bills pending since 2014. The Government is committed to clear the dues but had asked for some time owing to the financial situation in the State,” she said describing the BRS Government as Bakayila (dues) Rashtra Samiti which crippled the State finances.

Legislative Affairs Minister D. Sridhar Babu ridiculed Mr. Rao’s claim of releasing ₹275 crore to gram panchayats every month. “Why are such huge dues pending if the previous Government released funds in time?” Mr. Babu questioned.

Govt plans to develop 10,000 km roads with Rs. 12,000 cr in five years

Replying to another query on the condition of roads, the Panchayat Raj Minister said the government had planned to develop 10,000 km road network spending ₹12,000 crore in the coming five years. Of these, ₹2,311 crore for 2,400 km roads had been planned for the current year. Works on some of the roads had commenced while those relating to others were in tendering stage.