Nalgonda MP Uttam Kumar Reddy today demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao first clear all the pending bills before launching the 5th phase of the Palle Pragathi program.
The MP addressed a series of meetings in various villages in Huzurnagar constituency in Surpayet district on the ninth day of Rachabanda program/Rythu Bharosa Yatra in Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency. Uttam Kumar said of the proposed 318 villages and three municipalities, so far he covered 56 villages and one municipality highlighting the promises made to farmers in the Warangal Declaration unveiled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Uttam alleged that bills worth several hundred crores pertaining to various works executed during the first four phases of Palle Pragathi were still pending. He said non-clearance of pending bills has pushed hundreds of Gram Panchayats across Telangana State into a huge financial crisis. While the development in those gram panchayats has come to a halt, the Sarpanches, who got different works executed are facing a severe financial crisis and a few of them even committed suicide, he alleged.
The Nalgonda MP also wrote an open letter to the Chief Minister on this issue. Citing an instance, Uttam Kumar said the Sarpanch of Vishwanth Colony in Hanamkonda, Vallepu Anitha Ramesh, has turned into a daily wage laborer to clear a loan of Rs 8 lakh which she took on interest to carry out the development works in the village. He said thousands of Sarpanches are facing hardship due to the non-clearance of pending bills.
Giving the example of various Gram Panchayats in Huzurnagar and Kodad Assembly constituencies, he said bills for different works worth Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh executed in previous phases were still pending. Those works were officially sanctioned and executed under the directions of Special Officer, RDO/MPO. The condition in small Gram Panchayats is much worse. There is no money to pay for diesel, electricity bills, tractors’ EMIs and so on. He said the burden of paying salaries to borewell mechanics, and computer operators in the Mandal Parishad Offices should not be on Gram Panchayats.
“The pending bills have caused financial and mental distress to thousands of Sarpanches across Telangana State. STO offices have frozen the payments which delayed the bills by three to six months. Therefore, before launching the 5th phase of Palle Pragathi, the State Government should clear all the pending bills,” he demanded.
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Uttam Kumar Reddy gave details of some of the Gram Panchayats in his Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency whose bills were pending for three months Koppulakonda – Rs 4 Lakh; Sirpur – Rs 3 Lakh; Rebelle – Rs. 4 Lakh; Kariveerala – Rs 15 Lakh; Ameenabad – Rs 5 Lakh; Gopa Thanda – Rs 7 Lakh; Kalvapale – Rs 9 Lakh; Sultanpur Thanda – Rs 5 Lakh; Kallam Cheruvu – Rs 2 Lakh; Chanupalli – Rs 4 Lakh and Kotha Donabanda Thanda – Rs 6.20 Lakh and Vardhapuram – Rs 15 lakh. These pending bills were related to the construction of CCTV, Vaikuntavanam, street lights, NREGS or Mission Bhagiratha works.
The Congress MP demanded that the State Government issue a White Paper on the village-wise pending bills of Palle Pragathi and other works. “CM KCR should conduct a review meeting on the pending bills for Gram Panchayats and set a clear deadline by which all the pending bills be cleared. Hundreds of Sarpanches have gone out of the way to execute developmental works in their villages. Some of them took private loans and even sold their properties to get those works done. Now those Sarpanches are feeling cheated as the State Government was not clearing the pending bills,” he said, while demanding that the State Government immediately clear all the pending bills and also pay compensation to the families of Sarpanches, who committed suicide.
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