Uttam hits out at TRS for disputing sarpanches’ dues

REDDY, A FORMER TPCC president, alleged that the government was frustrated due to the failure of the fifth phase of the programme. He said that sarpanches openly boycotted the programme and several villages held protests on the occasion.

Nalgonda MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday condemned the TRS government for disputing claims of sarpanches over pending bills amounting to hundreds of crores under the Palle Pragathi programme.

Reddy, a former TPCC president, alleged that the government was frustrated due to the failure of the fifth phase of the programme. He said that sarpanches openly boycotted the programme and several villages held protests on the occasion.

“In a meeting held with the sarpanch association in Hyderabad on Thursday, Panchayat Raj minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao intimidated sarpanches and openly disputed their claims over pending bills. Shockingly, the minister asked them to furnish evidence of pending bills months after the works were executed. All works are executed in gram panchayats are as per the norms, procedures and guidelines set by the state and Central governments,” he said.

Reddy was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a series of meetings in villages under the Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency, as part of the Rachabanda programme on Thursday.

He said that the Panchayat Raj minister admitted that `1,140 crore, for EGS material components, were due from the Centre. "Who is responsible to get these arrears cleared from the Centre? Does Chandrashekar Rao or Dayakar Ro expect the sarpanches to follow it up directly with the Centre?" he said.

“The TRS government is trying to wash off its hand by shifting the blame to the BJP in Centre. Both TRS and BJP have neglected the development of villages and both are now trying to play the blame game to divert people's attention,” he said.