Sarpanches demand release of Rs 1,121 cr Central funds
They said that despite repeated appeals to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, and senior officials in the panchayat raj department, their pleas have gone unanswered for the past seven months.
Under the leadership of Dr Jasti Veeranjaneyulu, national vice-president of All India Panchayat Parishad and chief advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Sarpanches Welfare Association, sarpanchs from Guntur district, cutting across party lines, submitted a memorandum to district collector S Nagalakshmi during the 'Spandana' grievances redressal programme.
The sarpanches appealed to collector Nagalakshmi to facilitate the immediate release of the Central government's 15th Finance Commission funds, sent in December last year, to support the development of the panchayats.
Speaking to the media outside the collector's office, Dr Jasti Veeranjanelu expressed dismay that the Rs 1,121 crore released by the central government in December last year has yet to be credited to the panchayat accounts. He criticised the practice of merely issuing government orders (GOs) and administrative approvals without disbursing the funds, calling it unreasonable. He also stated that there is little hope of receiving another Rs 1,000 crore expected from the Central government in July of the current financial year.
Dr Veeranjanelu revealed that during a recent meeting with senior officials of the Union ministry of panchayat raj in Delhi, he was informed that the next tranche of Rs 1,000 crore would only be transferred if gram panchayats spent the funds received last year and submitted the utilisation certificates.
Collector Nagalakshmi responded positively to the sarpanches' concerns, assuring them that she would bring the matter to the attention of the government and take immediate steps for a resolution.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
17 minutes ago
- Hans India
Maha: Outstanding Agri loans to various banks surge to Rs 37,392 crore
Mumbai: Amid hope for a crop loan waiver decision by the MahaYuti government as promised ahead of assembly elections, the arrears towards agriculture loan repayable to banks as on June this year have been reported at Rs 37,392 crore. According to the data compiled by the state cooperation department, of the Rs 37,392 crore, the district central cooperative banks (DCCBs) have yet to recover arrears of Rs 15,492 crore, nationalised banks Rs 18,00 crore, regional rural banks Rs 800 crore and private banks Rs 3,000 crore. The increasing outstanding dues are adversely impacting the finances of these banks. Nearly 20.37 lakh bank accounts of farmers have outstanding dues. The department sources on Thursday hinted that the arrears due to non-repayment by farmers towards crop loan, short, medium and major loans are expected to grow further as the farmers expect an early decision on crop loan waiver. Further, the department sources said that farmers are not repaying the loans despite the appeal made by the Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar and Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate to clear their dues at the earliest without waiting for the announcement of crop loan waiver. The government, on the last day of the monsoon session on July 18, announced the establishment of a committee to look into the crop loan waiver issue and the present state of agricultural stress. Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil said, 'The government has set up a committee to study the crop loan waiver option. It is a matter of concern that even the financially sound farmers are not repaying the loan. The financial health of district central cooperation banks, which play a major role in the rural economy, is becoming delicate. They are expected to land in big financial trouble.' According to the cooperation department sources, crop loans worth Rs 70,000 crore on average are disbursed annually in the state. Of which, 65 per cent of loans are disbursed by nationalised banks and 35 per cent by district central cooperative banks. 'Financially sound farmers with large land holdings opt for loans from the nationalised banks, while farmers having small and marginal holdings take loans from district central cooperative banks.' Sources said that the financial condition of many district central cooperative banks, including Nashik, Wardha, and Nagpur district banks, has become fragile. Even the financially sound district central cooperative banks are likely to face similar financial problems if the arrears from farmers towards agriculture loans increase in future. 'The government provides agricultural loans at concessional interest rates. However, farmers are not in the mood to repay loans as they anxiously wait for a decision on the crop loan waiver. However, if the farmers continue to repay loans, then there is every possibility that the rural agricultural credit system may collapse,' warned sources from the cooperation department.
Hans India
17 minutes ago
- Hans India
Delhi court reserves verdict on issuing notice to Robert Vadra in land deal case
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday reserved its decision on issuing a notice to businessman Robert Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur. The Rouse Avenue Court will likely pronounce its verdict on July 31 regarding the issuance of a notice to Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), claiming that Vadra's Skylight Hospitality 'fraudulently' purchased 3.53 acres of land situated in the village of Shikohpur in Haryana's Gurugram district through 'false declaration'. During the hearing, advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, stated that the sale deed falsely declared a payment of Rs 7.5 crore, whereas in reality, no such payment was made. This amount was paid at a later stage to evade stamp duty, a fact that has been confirmed by key witnesses, added Hossain. Further, the federal anti-money laundering agency claimed that Vadra, 'through his personal influence', obtained a commercial license on the land purchased. As per the ED, the land was later sold to DLF at a higher price, and this aspect of the case is still under investigation. In April this year, Vadra was questioned in multiple rounds by the ED, during which his statement was also recorded. The land purchase deal in question was executed in February 2008 when Congress was at the helm in Haryana, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the Chief Minister. The mutation process, which usually takes months, was done the next day. Months later, Vadra received a permit to develop a housing society on the land, and the value of the plot increased. He sold it to DLF in June at Rs 58 crore. Suspecting the proceeds to be part of a money laundering scheme, the ED has been probing the trail behind the windfall gains. In October 2012, IAS officer Ashok Khemka (now retired), who was then posted as the Director General of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the land purchase deal, citing procedural irregularities. Later in 2013, an in-house government panel gave a clean chit to both Vadra as well as DLF. When the BJP-led government came to power, an FIR was registered by the Haryana Police against former Chief Minister Hooda, Vadra, and others.
Indian Express
17 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Contractor's suicide puts limelight on Rs 35k crore need for state's Jal Jeevan Mission
Even as Maharashtra's ruling and opposition parties exchanged barbs after the suicide of young contractor Harshal Patil, allegedly over non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 1.4 crore on account of Jal Jeevan Mission work in Sangli district, documents from the state government's Water Supply and Sanitation department show that the state needs Rs 35,622 crore to complete the ongoing works and honour the dues for the year 2025-26. As per the data, Maharashtra's annual plan for the year 2025-26 is of Rs 35,622 crore, of which Rs 19,259 crore is Centre's share and Rs 16,363 crore is the share of the state. Meanwhile, the Centre has already conveyed to the state government that it won't be releasing Jal Jeevan Mission funds for the time being. Earlier this month, The Indian Express reported that the Maharashtra Government informed the Legislative Council that it has not received central funds for the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme since October 2024 and has been using funds from the state's coffers to complete the ongoing projects. It also stated that 51,558 schemes have been sanctioned under the mission, of which 26,009 are still ongoing. However, in a written reply submitted to the Legislative Council, Maharashtra's Water Supply and Sanitation Department informed that the state government has disbursed funds worth Rs 2,483.58 crore to complete the ongoing schemes. 'We are corresponding with the central government to release funds at the earliest. To ensure that ongoing works are not stopped, for the year 2025-26, we have decided to give additional funds worth Rs 3,913 crore,' Meghana Sakore-Bordikar, Minister of State, had informed. Earlier, a day after 35 year-old Harshal Patil committed suicide over non-payment of his dues worth Rs 1.4 crore, Maharashtra's Water Supply And Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil claimed that there are no records of pending dues of the said person. Harshal's cousin Akshay Patil told police that the contractor was under immense financial stress. 'His bills worth Rs 1.4 crore were pending and he had also taken loan from money lenders. His financial stress was immense and he used to talk about the same for days,' said Patil. According to his relatives, Harshal left home on Tuesday an did not return home, following which they filed a complaint at Kurlap police station in Sangli district. On Wednesday afternoon, his body was found hanging from a tree in a farm. The Maharashtra State Contractor Association slammed the state government alleging that it has been consistently raising the pending dues worth Rs 89,000 crore for more than two years which were neglected by the state government. The association also released documents showing Patil had sublet the construction work. 'When I heard the news, I took information from the concerned officials. There was no record of pending dues . We do not know if he had sublet the work from any other contractor,' said State's Water Supply and Sanitation minister Gulabrao Patil. Milind Bhosle, president, Maharashtra State Contractor Association, said that large number of small engineers had taken contracts of Jal Jeevan Mission work and the government has not paid their dues. 'There are dues worth Rs 89,000 crore pending and we have been consistently speaking about it. But nobody from the government gave any attention to it. This has now resulted in the suicide of a young contractor. He had also taken loan worth Rs 65 lakh and couldn't repay it since the government did not pay the dues,' said Bhosle. Opposition NCP(SP) leader Jayant Patil said that he had warned the state government in his speech at the legislative Assembly about such a possibility. 'I had warned the possibility of contractors committing suicides. But the government paid no attention to it,' he said. Harshal Patil was a resident of Walwa taluka in Sangli, the home district of Jayant Patil. Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar said that after farmers, contractors are committing suicides in the state. 'The government is responsible for his death. The state has gone bankrupt and there is no one from the government who is looking after it,' he said.
