KTR promises legal fight if funds to BRS-led gram panchayats are blocked

BRS working president KT Rama Rao said Finance Commission funds to gram panchayats cannot be stopped by any government or leader. Alleging threats by Congress MLAs to BRS sarpanches, he assured legal and political support if funds were stalled.

Rajanna-Sircilla: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Monday asserted that nobody could stop Finance Commission funds and other constitutionally assured allocations to gram panchayats.

Stating that he had learnt that some Congress MLAs were allegedly threatening newly elected BRS sarpanches with denial of funds to their respective gram panchayats if they did not join the ruling party, Rama Rao said sarpanches should be aware of their rights. Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy nor MLAs could stop Finance Commission funds, as these were earmarked in the Constitution. Gram panchayats would directly receive 70 percent of Finance Commission funds, followed by Mandal Parishads with 20 percent and Zilla Parishads with 10 percent.

---

Moreover, even the State government could not take decisions on the implementation of schemes without resolutions passed by gram panchayats. It was mandatory to display the beneficiaries’ list in gram panchayats before implementing any scheme, he said.

If there was any instance of funds being stalled to gram panchayats represented by BRS sarpanches, the party would take steps to ensure the release of funds by raising the issue in the Assembly, Council and Parliament, he assured.

So, sarpanches need not worry, Rama Rao said while felicitating newly elected BRS sarpanches, deputy sarpanches and ward members from Vemulawada and Sircilla segments at a programme held in Sircilla on Monday.

He said there was a possibility of the Congress government attempting to stop funds to gram panchayats by implicating BRS sarpanches in cases and added that the party would set up a legal cell in every district to extend legal assistance to such sarpanches. If any BRS public representative was put in trouble by the Congress, they should approach party leaders, Rama Rao advised, and asked party leaders to fight on their behalf by filing cases in court, stating that it was the responsibility of the party to protect them.

Commenting on Revanth Reddy’s campaign in gram panchayat elections in the name of Vijayotsavams, he said he had never seen a Chief Minister campaign for gram panchayat polls. Despite the Chief Minister’s campaign and warnings by ruling party MLAs about denial of welfare schemes, Congress candidates were not elected and BRS won up to 80 percent of seats in some areas in the gram panchayat polls, he said.

The Congress government had faced opposition from the public within a span of two years as no welfare scheme was being implemented properly, he said. Newly elected sarpanches, deputy sarpanches and ward members would work for only two years under the Congress government as Assembly elections were due in two years. They would work the remaining three years under a BRS government, he said.

Rama Rao also informed that a workshop would be conducted for newly elected ZPTCs, MPTCs, sarpanches, deputy sarpanches and ward members after the completion of ZPTC and MPTC elections to educate them on the Panchayat Raj Act.