PK Accuses Govt of Swindling Gram Panchayat Funds

Vijayawada: Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan lashed out at the YSRC government for ‘diverting gram panchayat (GP) funds’ because of which no village has been developed to the required levels.

Addressing gram sarpanchs at a state-level interaction programme with them at the party office in Mangalagiri on Saturday, he deplored that GPs had no inkling of the quantum of funds sanctioned to them and how much of it was being diverted leaving them in perennial fund-crunch. He alleged a conspiracy to dilute rural governance despite the fact that villages play a crucial role in nation-building.

He vowed that Jana Sena would fight to ensure that funds released by the Finance Commission would be deposited into the bank accounts of GPs directly. He assured to take up the issue to the notice of the Centre and seek its immediate intervention.

Pawan Kalyan said that he would also ask the Centre to minimise the role of the state government on gram panchayat funds. Alleging that 29 powers of gram panchayat sarpanchs were diluted, he said that the Centre was already having a report on how GP funds were being swindled in Andhra Pradesh.

Pawan Kalyan pointed out that it was mandatory on the part of the state government to hold gram sabhas twice in a year to discuss funds that were sanctioned and the expenditure incurred on providing amenities and for maintenance. YSRC has done away with this system, he said.

He assured to keep development of villages as one of the important objectives in the party manifesto. He called upon all political parties to be united in order to strengthen gram panchayats. He called for emulation of the Kerala government model, which has strengthened local bodies.

He criticised the YSRC government for bringing a parallel system of village volunteers to usurp the powers of gram panchayats. He alleged that the volunteers were being used as party activists.

Earlier, while addressing the Jana Sena supporters from NRI Gulf wing, he alleged that there was no rule of law in the state and vowed efforts to come up with a strong political system to restore it and ensure justice to all.

Deploring the way the political system in the country was getting degenerated where only those resorting to unlawful activities were being considered as political leaders, he vowed to end such practices.