Pending dues, mounting debts deter leaders from contesting gram panchayat elections in Telangana

Rural politics in Telangana has taken a tense turn as gram panchayat elections approach. Many local leaders are reluctant to contest due to two years of unpaid bills for development works, leaving former sarpanches in debt. The Congress government owes Rs 1,083 crore in pending bills, with only a fraction released despite promises.

Hyderabad: With the process for the gram panchayat elections underway, rural politics in Telangana has heated up. But unlike previous years, many local leaders are hesitant to enter the fray. The reason is blunt and clear across villages. Two years of unpaid bills for rural development works have left former sarpanches trapped in debt and uncertainty.

While the issue remained a closed-door affair among political parties, it came to the fore after photographs emerged of a Congress supporter falling at the feet of Ramulamma, mother of a former MPTC, pleading with her to contest as a sarpanch candidate in Datla village of Danthalapalli mandal of Mahabubabad district.

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Though Congress leaders wanted her to contest as the seat was allotted to a BC woman, many rural leaders admitted that such a situation was prevailing in the majority of villages cutting across party lines due to pending bills and the prevailing financial condition of the gram panchayats.

“Unlike the previous terms, gram panchayat elections are not being fought keenly. Though the public mood is in favour of the BRS and the Congress leaders express confidence of winning these elections through poll management as the party is in power, the ground reality is different,” explained P Srinivas Reddy, a former sarpanch from erstwhile Warangal district.

He said the last two years under the Congress government have turned the post of sarpanch into a financial trap rather than a position of pride and respect.

During the previous BRS regime, gram panchayats undertook a slew of development works including Vaikuntha Dhamams, sports grounds, parks, internal roads, plantation drives and the purchase of tractors.

Encouraged by the government’s push, many sarpanches borrowed heavily to execute these works, expecting timely reimbursement. But after the Congress came to power, the bills were kept pending for the last two years, pushing many of them to the brink, with some even dying by suicide under mounting financial pressure.

Now, as the elections are underway, past trauma is shaping present politics. Potential candidates say they cannot again spend on elections, spend on works, and then spend years chasing files. They fear a repeat of the same cycle under the Congress government, which continues to sit on pending dues.

The government owes Rs 1,083 crore in pending bills to former sarpanches and panchayat secretaries for taking up various works, including maintenance of basic amenities. In the last week of October, the government took a policy decision for immediate disbursal of funds amounting to nearly Rs 320 crore pertaining to around 46,974 bills of both the Panchayat Raj and Roads and Buildings departments.

However, the majority of even these bills are yet to be released.
Although the ruling party is reportedly assuring candidates that the party will bear campaign expenses, many remain unconvinced. Local leaders argued their financial limits are real and stark, where contesting could mean nothing but more debt.

Senior party leaders are scrambling to persuade, reassure, and push strong contenders into the race. While several leaders are reluctantly agreeing to contest, they admitted that until pending bills are cleared, becoming a sarpanch is a risk few are willing to take.