Adilabad: In an unexpected turn of events, the Telangana government has taken a
serious note of alleged unconstitutional activities being carried out by
village development committees (VDCs) in the northern districts of the
state.
The development comes as the state gets ready for upcoming local body polls.
Additional collector for local bodies, Nirmal district, Faizan Ahmed said
gram panchayats are constituting village development committees without
official orders and government permits. He said this is causing panic among
the people.
Ahmed said undemocratic activities are being carried out by VDCs, which has
been noted by the government. He said VDCs are creating hurdles in the
implementation of government schemes.
He warned 'officials' of VDCs of stern legal action.
In north Telangana, VDCs came up after the Naxal movement started to wean
off. Most VDCs came up in erstwhile Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and
Nizamabad districts. Today, VDCs are most active in Nirmal, Mancherial and
Adilabad districts.
The state government has been informed that VDCs are creating an environment
which is suited for a particular religion. This in turn may lead to election
results getting influenced on religious lines. The government is reportedly
looking into the role of VDCs during the last Assembly and Lok Sabha
elections in the state.
It was reported that some VDCs are acting as an alternative to the Panchayat
Raj system and in some cases VDCs are exercising more power than panchayati
officials.
Village development committees are allegedly conducting auctions of the post
of sarpanches. VDCs are also accused of socially boycotting persons based on
caste.
Further, VDCs are accused of collecting lakhs of rupees by giving permission
for sand mining and liquor sales. This money is said to be used for
religious purposes like building grand temples, instead of development
works.
