Congress has imposed economic emergency in Telangana, says BJP

Hyderabad: BJP MLA Payal Shankar alleged that the Congress government had imposed an economic emergency as the gram panchayats struggled for a lack of funds. “The local bodies have completely lost their financial independence as the government is forcing the gram panchayats to deposit their house tax collections in the state government's treasury and preventing them from withdrawing the amount for local self-governance,” he said.

Addressing a press conference, the Adilabad MLA, along with BJP general secretary Dr Kasam Venkateshwarlu charged that the government also denied the gram panchayats to withdraw their deposits from the CGF accounts from the treasury. The panchayat workers have not been getting salaries for the last seven months and did not have funds to light up their streets.

He pointed out that the earlier BRS government had diverted `498 crore released by the Centre for gram panchayats to its accounts. Many works, completed almost 70 to 80 per cent during the RS government, are still pending due to the non-release of funds. But, the contractors, who are close to the government, are getting their bills. The government is pennyless to provide subsidy to agriculture tools and seeds to the farmers, he alleged and demanded the Congress government to take steps for reopening the Adilabad Cement Company, closed down about 30 years ago.