Former Telangana sarpanches demand pending bills, allege debt crisis
HYDERABAD: Former sarpanches from across Telangana have alleged that they are being pushed to suicide because of growing debts. These debts are from work done in villages between 2019 and 2024 during the previous government tenure. The current government has not paid pending bills, even after many requests.
The Telangana State Sarpanches’ Association Joint Action Committee tried to give a letter to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy at his Jubilee Hills residence, demanding the immediate clearance of all pending bills.
Speaking to the media, Survi Yadaiah Goud, Founding State President of the Telangana Sarpanches Association JAC, said he was upset with the government for ignoring their requests. He said it has been 32 months since the Congress government started, but no money has been given to gram panchayats from the state.
He said the only signs of development in villages are from the last government. Since the new government took over, gram panchayats have been ignored. He claimed the government insulted Panchayat Raj Minister Seethakka by not releasing funds. He also said that if bills for former sarpanches stay unpaid, the Panchayat Ministry exists in name only.
Rural development has stalled
Yadaiah Goud said the JAC tried many times over the past months to meet the Chief Minister. They visited his house six times and the Secretariat five times, but they were not allowed to meet him. Police were sent to make them leave, which made them feel insulted.
He remembered that the Chief Minister said at a recent farmers’ meeting that former sarpanches had threatened to protest at his house. The Chief Minister promised to give them tea and snacks before sending them away. But when they went to his house today, they were not given an appointment and were sent back.
He further alleged that by failing to release funds, the government has effectively abandoned the ‘Haritha Haram’ initiative, once a revolutionary tree-planting drive involving every nursery during the monsoon season. He said that sanitation in villages has deteriorated due to the rains, and that since the Congress government assumed power, there has been absolutely no visible development. He warned that lush villages seem to have regressed by two decades.
General Secretary Rampaka Nagaiah, Secretary Kesa Boyina Mallaiah Yadav, and state leaders like Padma Reddy, Sana Boyina Sudhakar Goud, and Kallatlapalli Rajaiah attended the event. The association has asked for all pending bills to be paid quickly to help former sarpanches and stop more suicides.
