VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has asserted that their government will not divert funds of panchayats like the previous dispensation. He said funds allocated to panchayats will be spent on them only and added that shortly Rs 759 crore funds of the 15th Finance Commission will be released.
Addressing a meeting of the Panchayat Raj Chamber and Sarpanches Association, he said the present government inherited a State, where every system was destroyed during the previous regime. “In the last five years, the entire panchayat system was rendered ineffective. The very spirit of the local self government was ignored,” he said.
Reiterating that their government is committed to strengthening the panchayat system as promised during the run-up to elections, Pawan Kalyan said villages, where 70% of the population lives are the real growth engines, hence they need to be prioritised.
“Growing plants that can fetch income in open places of the villages is the concept of Palle Vanam. Today, the country is importing 20,000 MT of timber. If we can grow timber to meet our needs, it will be beneficial. We are also encouraging the cultivation of bamboo and bio-diesel plants,” he explained.