Telangana: BJP MLA urges govt to release funds to local bodies

BJP MLA Payal Shankar alleged that governance in rural and urban local bodies was in very bad shape due to non-release of funds as also non-payment of salaries to the sanitation workers for the last seven months.

Hyderabad: BJP MLA Payal Shankar has urged the State government to immediately release funds to the gram panchayats and municipalities to take up development works.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Shankar alleged that governance in rural and urban local bodies was in very bad shape due to non-release of funds as also non-payment of salaries to the sanitation workers for the last seven months. “Gram panchayats and local bodies have become completely ineffective due to the inefficiency of the Congress government. The development works in the GP and urban municipalities have almost come to a standstill. The GPs are unable to meet the basic needs,”he alleged.

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The property taxes collected in Gram Panchayats were deposited in the treasury, but the government was not allowing the gram panchayats to withdraw money from it to take up development works and pay salaries to staff, he said, adding that the Centre had released Rs. 498 crore to take up development works in gram panchayats, but it was too diverted by the previous government.

He demanded the State government to immediately release funds to gram panchayats to take up development works. “If rural and urban local bodies become inactive, then the government will not be able to implement any development works in the State,”he warned.