Hyderabad: Former minister T. Harish Rao has written to Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) demanding urgent release of panchayat funds and resolution of pending dues across Telangana villages.
In the letter sent on Saturday, Rao flagged worsening sanitation and halted development activities, attributing the decline to the Congress government’s failure to release funds. He said bills due to former sarpanches and panchayat secretaries remain unpaid, while services of outsourcing Panchayat Secretaries still await regularisation.
Rao said the BRS government, under former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, had appointed 9,350 Junior Panchayat Secretaries in 2019 to strengthen rural administration. With timely disbursal of funds and coordinated efforts by village officials and local representatives, Telangana villages had achieved model status nationally, he claimed.
Since the change in government, he alleged, routine operations in gram panchayats have stalled. He cited unlit streets, unpaid road taxes on government tractors, and fuel shortages as examples. According to him, some panchayats are now returning tractor keys to officials due to lack of operational funds.
Despite the fund freeze, Rao said panchayat secretaries have continued work by borrowing money, which has led to rising personal debts and mental distress. He warned that delays could worsen with approaching local body elections.
He demanded immediate release of gram panchayat funds, clearance of pending payments for works completed by former sarpanches and panchayat staff, and fulfillment of the Congress manifesto promise to regularise outsourced Panchayat Secretaries.
Calling attention to seasonal health risks, he urged the department to conduct special sanitation drives in villages during the rainy season.
Rao further noted that sanitation workers have gone unpaid for the past three months and are facing severe hardship. He also pointed out that data entry operators involved in last November’s household survey have yet to receive their salaries. He asked the Minister to address these payment delays without further hold-up.
గౌరవనీయులైన పంచాయతీరాజ్, గ్రామీణాభివృద్ధి శాఖ మంత్రి
దనసరి అనసూయ @seethakkaMLA గారికి,విషయం: గ్రామాల్లో కుంటుపడిన పారిశుద్ద్యం, మాజీ సర్పంచులు, పంచాయతీ కార్యదర్శుల పెండింగ్ బిల్లుల చెల్లింపు మరియు ఔట్ సోర్సింగ్ పంచాయతీ కార్యదర్శుల క్రమబద్దీకరణ, ఇతర సమస్యల గురించి.
గ్రామాల… pic.twitter.com/KaoD5lJLdA
— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) June 22, 2025