HYDERABAD: Several sarpanches, who attended the protest meeting organised by the Congress here on Monday, lamented that the grama panchayat funds were withdrawn without their knowledge. They alleged that the digital key was stealthily being used by panchayat secretaries to draw funds at the instances of the government.
Speaking to TNIE, Turkapally sarpanch G Kavitha Venugopal Reddy said that 13 cheques were passed in November and December without her knowledge. This was flagrant violation of the guidelines of the XV Finance Commission, she said and alleged that the panchayat secretary had authorised some transactions for the second time, benefiting some twice.
“The government has frozen the transactions to be made by sarpanches and allowed panchayat secretaries to perform them. As per the norms, the sarpanches are supposed to issue the cheques for withdrawal of funds sanctioned by the Central government. If the panchayat officers authorize such transactions, the onus of explanation is upon the sarpanch during auditing,” she said. Another sarpanch, Laxminarayana said that the State had made them slaves by enacting the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018.
He demanded that the government extend the tenure of sarpanches by one year as they faced the burnt of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Geereddy Mahender Reddy, a sarpanch from Kamareddy district, questioned as to why there was no deputy CM in the State to share “cheque issuing power” with the chief minister. “Why is the rule of double authorisation being applied to sarpanches and vice sarpanches, and not at the State level? Why the CM is not ready to taste his own medicine,” the sarpanch asked.