Centre, state denying funds to sarpanches: Congress

WARANGAL: Senior Congress leader and MLC T. Jeevan Reddy accused the state and central government of playing with the lives of sarpanches by denying funds to their panchayats.

Speaking to the media at Indira Bhavan in Jagtial on Sunday, he said while the state government blamed the centre for not sanctioning funds to the state, the central government is saying the state is not submitting utilisation certificates.

Jeevan Reddy said with the dispute between the two, sarpanches are unable to take up any development works in their villages. When officials threatened village sarpanches of taking action against them, each sarpanch borrowed ₹20 lahks to ₹50 lahks from private money lenders and completed developmental works.

However, when the central government released funds to the village sarpanches, the state government used digital keys and withdrew this money, the Congress leader alleged.

He said as the sarpanches did not receive any funds as a result, some of them had ended their lives, while sarpanches belonging to Raikal and Sarangapur villages have submitted their resignations.

Jeevan Reddy demanded that the state government immediately release pending bills and funds to village panchayats.

Congress party leaders G. Nagabushanam, B. Shankar, G. Nandaiah, K. Duragaiah, J. Rajendar, Chand Pasha, village sarpanches Ramya and Sandhya, MPTC Bhuma Reddy, B. Rajesh, L. Vijay and Vijaya Lakshmi were among those present at the press conference.