Congress will restore past glory of Panchayat Raj system in Telangana, says Uttam Kumar Reddy

HYDERABAD: Civil Supplies and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy announced that the Congress Government in Telangana is committed to reviving the former glory of the Panchayat Raj system in the State.

The Minister made these remarks during a series of meetings after inaugurating Panchayat and Anganwadi buildings at Kalwapally, Donbanda, and Lali thandas in the Mattampally mandal; Vepalamadhavaram village in Mellacheruvu mandal; and Repalle and Erragunta villages in Chintalapalem mandal in the Huzurnagar constituency on Sunday. He also laid the foundation stone for an Rs 80 lakh CC Road at Pulichintala Project Colony in Chintalapalem mandal.

Uttam emphasised that in line with the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments introduced by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress Government, as promised in the manifesto, aimed to restore the three-tier system of local bodies to its former glory by providing clear responsibilities and necessary funds.

Strongly condemning the BRS regime for dismantling the entire PRI system in Telangana, he alleged that gram panchayats were deprived of funds and sarpanches were stripped of their powers. "Under the guise of reforms, the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, diverted the revenues of gram panchayats for other purposes. Many sarpanches had to undertake developmental works using their own funds or borrowed money, resulting in unpaid bills amounting to over thousands of crore. As a consequence, hundreds of sarpanches committed suicide due to various reasons, including debts," Uttam said.

The Minister also lamented that the previous BRS Government did not allow sarpanches to express their grievances through protests, leading to repeated humiliation and damage to their self-respect.

He also pointed out that hundreds of sarpanchs had tendered their resignation in protest against the alleged diversion of the Central funds meant for gram panchayats by the previous BRS Govt. He said the BRS Government owed each gram panchayat up to Rs 20 lakh and that they had to spend their own money on village development because the Government diverted the funds that it received from the Centre for the purpose.

"The diversion of funds had pushed the sarpanches into huge debts. In thousands of gram panchayats, the sarpanches had to raise funds on their own to pay salaries for sanitation staff in villages, to undertake development activities such as Haritha Haram, Prakruthi Vanam, road laying and maintenance, sanitation activities, etc. Almost all sarpanches in Telangana fell into a debt trap as they raised funds through private lenders and mortgaged their properties to undertake village development activities. When the Centre credited the finance commission grants directly into the bank accounts of gram panchayats, the BRS Government fraudulently diverted the amount into its accounts without their notice instead of clearing pending bills," he alleged.

Furthermore, Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted that the previous BRS Government reneged on its promise of a Rs 10 lakh incentive for gram panchayats with unanimously elected Sarpanchs during the January 2019 elections. Despite the widespread expectation of these incentives, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao denied making such a commitment. This unfulfilled promise has created personal challenges for some sarpanches who borrowed funds for development projects, and for those in tribal areas, it has become a matter of honour. In January 2019, 2,134 out of 12,732 gram panchayats unanimously elected their sarpanch, and the Government's obligation for incentives totalled Rs 213.40 crore.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the present Congress Government would take measures to empower the gram panchayats and restore their lost glory.

As promised in the Congress manifesto, he said that the present Government would waive penalties on property tax and house tax arrears in municipalities, corporations, and gram panchayats across the State. He said an annual grant of Rs 25 lakh to each tanda and Gudem gram panchayats would also be given under Graminabhivrudhi Pathakam (SGGP).

Uttam Kumar Reddy also assured that the gram panchayat workers would be provided with minimum wages and Job security. The PESA Act would be amended and implemented to benefit the tribal areas. He said all other promises made in the Congress manifesto for the empowerment of gram panchayats would be honoured.

He appealed to the people to support the new Congress Govt in Telangana which has been working honestly from Day-1 for the public welfare. He said two out of six guarantees given by the Congress during elections have been implemented. He said the remaining guarantees would be fulfilled within 100 days and all the assurances given to the people would be fulfilled.