The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Sarpanches decry release of grants to Congress workers

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Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Sarpanches decry release of grants to Congress workers

Correspondent

They want execution of works through panchayats in villages

VIZIANAGARAM: The District Sarpanches Association and the District MPTCs Association, while welcoming GO. No. 13 releasing Rs. 992 crores at the rate of Rs. 90 lakhs to each mandal and also Rs.1,000 crores under the NREGP for providing infrastructure facilities such as drains, cement roads in the 21,943 panchayats in the State, criticised Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy for making Congress workers as custodians for the grants and nominating them, without inviting bids, for the execution of works.

Members of the associations on Monday organised Chalo Collectorate demanding that the works be executed through panchayats in villages. Later, they staged protest demonstrations and submitted a memorandum to Joint Collector B. Ramaiah at the Grievance Cell.

M. Appala Naidu, president of district MPTCs Association, said in a release that the Chief Minister’s decision to release grants to Congress workers had reduced the status of sarpanches and MPTCs to ‘utsav idols’. He called upon sarpanches, MPTCs and ZPTCs, notwithstanding party affiliations, to participate in large numbers in the Chalo Assembly programme on August 28 and also boycott mandal parishad meetings until the government conceded their 31 charter of demands. Sarpanches’ Association president G. Raja Rao and others participated.

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