With the fifth phase of Palle Pragathi all set to start on June 3, Sarpanches across the State have been expressing their ire over pending bills for works completed in their respective villages for the last one year.
They decided not to take part in the programme till the bills were cleared.
During the preparatory meeting at Jagadevpur mandal headquarters of Gajwel constituency, Siddipet district, on Wednesday, the Sarpanches submitted a memorandum to the MPDO stating that they would not participate in Palle Pragathi.
“We have 29 panchayats in our mandal and most of them are minor panchayats. They are unable to meet expenditures like monthly instalment of tractors, diesel cost, wages and power bills. These bills are pending for more than six months. We have informed the officials that till all these bills are cleared, we will not participate in the programme,” Sarpanch of Teegul village Bhanu Prakash told The Hindu.
A similar protest was witnessed in Sangareddy. The district administration organised a meeting with village secretaries, MPDOs and others at a private function hall on Wednesday. Surprisingly, none of the MLAs or MPs attended the meeting, and when the Sarpanches came to know about it, they protested.
“We had sent the bills in December 2021 but they rejected it in March this year. This is the first time such restrictions have been imposed on the treasury,” said Sarpanches’ Forum president Ch. Gopal Reddy.
Collector M. Hanumantha Rao and Additional Collector Rajarshi Shah tried to pacify them but to no avail.
