A heated argument ensued between members of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) over the distribution of funds meant for drought relief at the Hassan Zilla Panchayat Budget meeting held here on Wednesday.
While the JD(S) members alleged that only the constituencies represented by Congress members received the funds, Shwetha Devaraj, president, Zilla Panchayat, maintained that she knew how to allocate funds.
Once the budget presentation ended, members of the JD(S) alleged that they had not been given funds. The State government had allocated ₹50 lakh for the ZP president to take up drought relief works. The JD(S) members said the money was distributed only among Congress members as the president was from that party. H.P. Srinivas, vice-president, ZP, from the JD(S), echoed the opinions of his colleagues.
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“I need not learn fund utilisation from JD(S) members. The funds were released because of my struggle,” she said, which was countered by the V-P. Further, the president asked the JD(S) members to submit a requisition seeking funds for their respective constituencies.