BJP accuses Telangana of curtailing sarpanch powers, TRS says action only against those erring

Sanjay accused the state government of curtailing the powers of sarpanches to utilise funds given to gram panchayats or take loans to be used for development works.

However, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister E Dayakar Rao said that the government took action only against a few erring sarpanches who were misusing funds. “There has been no attempt to curtail powers of local bodies,” he said.

In an open letter to village sarpanches, Sanjay said the BJP is committed to the spirit of the 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts of Panchayati Raj institutions, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allotted maximum funds for the cause of local self-governance to achieve self-reliance as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi. He pointed out that the village panchayats in the state that have been ranked best in the country come under the parliamentary constituencies of BJP MPs.

Sanjay said that the TRS election manifesto in 2014 promised to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institutions, which were weakened and politicised in the six decades of incompetent rule. However, he said that such promises have not been met even after eight years of the formation of the separate state of Telangana. Instead, the TRS government is yet again on the path to weaken the institutions while the sarpanches are working towards development by taking loans, he added.

In the letter, Sanjay also said that the state government has pending bills ranging from Rs 2 lakh to 20 lakh per gram panchayat. The BJP leader noted that while it is being said in Government Orders (GOs) that funds have been sanctioned, the state government is freezing public accounts of sarpanches, and is even threatening to suspend them if they speak out. Sanjay assured them that if they chose to fight for their rights, the BJP would support the sarpanches.

He also said that it is the Centre that is providing funds for developmental projects, including Rs 11 lakh for Palle Pragati (village development) and constructing Vaikuntha Dhamams, Rs 10 lakh for Rythu Vedika, Rs 4 lakh for Palle Prakruthi Vanam, Rs 2.5 lakh for construction of dump yards, and Rs 1.5 lakh for setting up of nurseries in each village panchayat.

Besides, the funds for cement concrete roads, maintenance works, setting up LED lights on streets, employment generation, and other developmental works are provided by the Centre, in partnership with the state government, Sanjay said. While the Centre is spending 100 per cent of its share, the TRS government has not yet set up the 15th commission committee to authorise that spending and is even misappropriating the given funds, he said.

Stating the callous attitude of the TRS government towards the death of sarpanches and ward members due to mounting indebtedness, Sanjay requested them to not take any extreme steps and said that the Telangana BJP unit would stand by them. Village sarpanches must lead a life of respect, Sanjay said, stating that the chief minister’s attitude towards them has even forced them to take up the work of daily wage labourers.

The BJP leader wrote to the sarpanches that they have to fight for their pending bills and their rights, as they have not been elected from any particular party. He sought support from them for a silent protest against the TRS government for the rights of sarpanches and local body representatives, which will be taken up by the Telangana BJP unit soon.