Illegal auction of gram panchayat seats begins in erstwhile Karimnagar

Illegal auctions for sarpanch, deputy sarpanch and ward member posts have reportedly begun in parts of the erstwhile Karimnagar district as villages push for unanimous elections to secure the Rs 10 lakh government incentive. Several gram panchayats have already passed unanimous resolutions.

Karimnagar: Auctions of sarpanch, deputy sarpanch and ward member posts have reportedly begun in parts of the erstwhile Karimnagar district as the process for the gram panchayat elections gathers pace.

Although the practice is illegal, these posts are reportedly being auctioned under the pretext of ensuring unanimous elections. While the process has already started in a few villages, it is learned that consultations are under way in others.

---

The gram panchayat elections will be held in three phases on December 11, 14 and 17, and the filing of nominations for the first phase began on Thursday.

The government offers Rs.10 lakh prize money to gram panchayats elected unanimously, prompting some villages to opt for unanimous selection of sarpanch, vice-sarpanch and ward members to secure the incentive.

Political leaders and influential individuals are said to be exploiting the opportunity by offering money to secure these posts. There have been instances of cases being registered against village elders who conducted such auctions.

So far, residents of four gram panchayats, Ruplanaik thanda, Viruni thanda, Gaidigutta thanda and Sarpanch thanda in Rudrangi mandal of Rajanna-Sircilla district, have decided to elect sarpanch, vice-sarpanch and ward members unanimously and have taken resolutions within their respective villages.

Residents of Ruplanaik thanda declared the name of Jawaharlal Naik for the sarpanch post on Wednesday. It is learnt that he promised to donate one and a half gunta of his own land for the construction of the gram panchayat building, which prompted the villagers to finalise his candidature.

However, the residents of its hamlet, Varjia thanda, reportedly opposed the proposal for unanimous election.

In the 2013 polls, Baswapur gram panchayat in Thangallapalli mandal was declared unanimous, and a case was registered against village elders after an enquiry confirmed that the posts had been auctioned.

In the erstwhile Karimnagar district, 82 gram panchayats were declared unanimous in the 2006 elections, 40 in the 2013 elections and 13 in the 2019 polls.