BRS stages walkout Telangana Assemblyover pending bills of Gram Panchayats

Hyderabad: The opposition BRS in Telangana on Monday staged a walkout from the Legislative Assembly in protest against the Congress government allegedly not clearing the pending bills pertaining to Gram Panchayats, Zilla Parishads and others.

Replying to a question by BRS MLA T Harish Rao on the issue, state Panchayat Raj Minister D Anasuya Seethakka said the amount to be paid to village Sarpanches (their tenure is over) up to November 1, 2024, was over Rs 691 crore.

She said the bills would be cleared soon.

Rao alleged that the Congress government is paying the bills of big contractors but troubling the (former) Sarpanches and other rural local body representatives without clearing the Rs 691 crore since the last one year.

The previous BRS government had provided Rs 275 crore every month under 'Palle Pragathi' (progress of villages) scheme and Rs 150 crore under 'Pattana Pragati' (progress of towns) scheme, but the Congress has not released even a single rupee during the last year, he alleged.

The Sarpanches had carried out works in villages by taking personal loans and now they are in dire straits due to non-release of funds, he said.

Though the tenure of Sarpanches and other rural local body representatives is over, their salaries are still pending, Rao said.

He sought a clear reply as to when the bills would be cleared.

Minister Seethakka said the pending bills are a legacy the Congress government has inherited from the previous BRS regime.

Noting that the pending bills is a phenomenon since 2014 (when BRS assumed power after formation of Telangana), the minister said she is ready to share the details with the BRS members.

Rao was Finance Minister during the BRS government, and he could have cleared the bills while in power, she said.

The government is seeking time to release the dues in view of the bad financial situation caused by the BRS regime, she said.

However, Rao expressed dissatisfaction over the minister not stating a deadline for clearing pending bills and announced a walkout by the BRS MLAs.

BRS members Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, Kova Lakshmi, BJP MLA K Vekata Ramana Reddy and Congress member N Rajender Reddy also spoke.

Inputs from PTI