HANAMKONDA: With the State government delaying the release of bills, the Seethampet Gram Panchayat (GP) is now reeling under a massive financial crisis. The situation is so dire that Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituency (MPTC) member Bandari Rajitha has been forced to work as an agricultural labourer to repay loans she has taken for village development works and feed her family.Owing to lack of funds, it has become very difficult to carry out developmental works in the village which falls in Hasanparthy mandal in Hanamkonda district, Rajitha told TNIE.
Bills for road works executed at a cost of Rs 5 lakh have been pending with the district authorities for over two years, she lamented. “At that time, we had taken a Rs 5 lakh loan from some villagers to complete the works. However, owing to the delay in the release of funds, lenders started asking for repayment of the money. As we don’t have any other resources to clear the loans, I have started working as a daily-wage labourer,” she added.
Stating that they weren’t against the TRS-led government, Rajitha explained that even with the combined income of her husband, who works at a private hospital, and the Rs 6,000 salary she earns as an MPTC member, they have been unable to clear the debt.Express’ repeated calls to Hanamkonda district Collector Rajeevgandhi Hanumanthu for his reaction on the issue went unanswered.
Not the first such case
Earlier in May, Vallepu Anitha Ramesh, sarpanch of Vishwanath Colony GP, was forced to work under MGNREGA after the district administration failed to release funds for works carried out under Palle Pragathi scheme and for building ‘vaikuntadhamams’