Khammam: Telangana bagging 19 of the 20 national panchayat awards was a proof of the State government’s efforts towards rural development, stated Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar.
The minister felicitated sarpanches and secretaries of gram panchayats that won national best panchayat awards at the district level here on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said that the villages developed and changed their appearance with the programmes taken up by the government.
The government was regularly releasing the matching grant to the Central funds. Each gram panchayat was sanctioned Rs 10 lakh under SDF. Similarly major gram panchayats were given Rs 10 crore each to ensure their comprehensive development with the funds.
Under Palle Pragathi, tractors, tankers, Palle Prakrithi Vanams, Vaikunta Dhamams, dumping yards and Rythu Vedikas were constructed in all the panchayats.
The district stands among the top three panchayats in implementing Palle Pragathi resulting in the reduction in the spread of seasonal diseases, Ajay Kumar said.
In Swachh Survekshan, Telangana and Khammam district have received many awards at national level. The district was at number one position in the Mana Ooru-Mana Badi programme.
Those who did not get awards should take inspiration from those who did and work better, he suggested.
ZP chairman L Kamal Raju, MLC Tata Madhusudan, Sathupalli MLA S Venkata Veeraiah, district
Collector VP Gautham, DCCB chairman K Nagabhushanam and others were present.