Tractor a hobble to small gram panchayats

Khammam: The compulsion of having a tractor for each gram panchayat is a curse to the small gram panchayats. There is no difference in expenses for a tractor in a gram panchayat that has a population of 5000 and a gram panchayat with a population of 450. The instalment of a tractor will be Rs 11,500 per month, and Rs 6,000 as diesel cost and Rs 8,500 per month to the multi-purpose worker. The power bills will be Rs 6000 to Rs 8000 in a month. There will be two to five multi-purpose workers. The total expenses of a major or minor gram panchayat in a month will be Rs 70,000.

There is no need for tractors in the small gram panchayats and the government forced all gram panchayats to have it. Some of the major gram panchayats, which have surplus revenue, bought the tractors by making full payment of their price. The other gram panchayats bought them with the bank loans. Paying instalments to the tractor was a problem for the sarpanches at the time that state and central governments were not releasing funds.

B. Ramulu, sarpanch of Chintalathanda, Julurpad mandal, received a bank notice for not paying tractor instalments. His bank account was frozen and he brought the tractor to the bank branch and asked the bank official to take away the tractor.

The central government, which thought the state government was misusing central funds, asked all the gram panchayats to open separate bank accounts to deposit its funds. Such accounts were opened five months ago and not a single rupee was deposited in them.