The Congress government in Telangana has allotted only 45.41 percent of gram panchayat seats to women, falling short of the mandated 50 percent under the Panchayat Raj Act. This is lower than the 49.09 percent extended by the previous BRS government in 2019.
A fresh petition has been filed in the Telangana High Court challenging the 42 percent BC reservation in local polls. Petitioners argue the government order violates category-wise norms. Supporters of the G.O. say the quota follows constitutional provisions on political representation
After the Panchayat Raj Ministry approved the draft ordinance, it was then sent to the Chief Minister's office and finally to the Raj Bhavan for Governor’s approval. If the Governor approves the ordinance, the amendment will come into force.
BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said a job calendar for issuing notifications for 17,000 jobs was ready. This apart, the State government was planning to release notifications for another 22,000 jobs and ensure a total of one lakh jobs were provided before March.
Of nearly Rs 1,380 crore pending for payment to the gram panchayats, the State government is learnt to have released only Rs 160 crore in two spells over the last six months.
Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashant Reddy said the implementation of the new Panchayat Raj Act brought by the State government was helping develop villages at a much faster pace in the State.
"The Forest Research Institute released a report recently revealing that the green cover in the State increased by 6-7 per cent which can be attributed to various measures by the State government."
