Seethakka: Rs 378 crore distributed to gram panchayats so far

Hyderabad: Refuting BRS’ claims that funds were not provided to gram panchayats, Panchayat Raj Minister Seethakka said that Rs 378.88 crore had been disbursed so far to maintain the department’s expenses. Replying during a discussion on demands for grants, she said the current government had not ignored the Panchayat Raj department despite facing a fund crunch.

“To support salaries, we have already released the amount, and some funds are pending too. But when we came to power, the department was already facing a pending amount of Rs 1,500 crore. The pending bills of sarpanches have led to many suicides,” she explained. She said the government would run a ‘Swachhadanam-Pachadanam’ campaign between August 5 and 13 to increase greenery. “I urge everyone to participate in the greenery campaign, and the government will resolve all the issues of Panchayat Raj,” she said.