Prakasam: Sarpanches protest against diversion of panchayat funds

Ongole: The members of the Prakasam district Sarpanches Association went around begging in the town on Thursday to protest against the government diverting the 15th Finance Commission funds from the panchayat bank accounts.

The association organised the demonstration at the Collectorate. The association founder president G Veerabhadrachari, president B Sriramamurthy, general secretary P Ramesh alleged that the government has diverted the funds in the panchayat accounts and made the balance in most of them to zero.

They said that the panchayat sarpanches have taken up many development activities and necessary works during the second wave of the coronavirus in the last eight months. They said that at the time when the bills for those works were to be paid from the funds sanctioned by the Union government under 15th Finance Commission recommendations, the money their accounts were diverted.

They said that this act of the government will bankrupt the sarpanches and damage the development activities in the panchayats. They went around town begging the public for donations for the development of their panchayats. As part of the protest and demanded the government to repay the funds to the accounts, cancel the CFMS system, and stop depending on the funds of panchayats.