Can't pay power bills from general funds: Sarpanches

Tadepalli/Velagapudi: The sarpanches in a memorandum submitted to special chief secretary of panchayat raj and rural development B Rajasekhar said that the electricity arrears of the village panchayats would be cleared from the funds released by the 15th Finance Commission and not from the general funds.

Andhra Pradesh Sarpanches Welfare Association president Chilakalapudi Papa Rao and national secretary of Akhila Bharat Panchayat Parishad Dr Jasti Veeranjaneyulu along with several sarpanches met the special chief secretary at the Secretariat here on Friday and submitted the demands of the sarpanches. The sarpanches made it clear that the village panchayats were not in a position to pay power bills as there were no funds in their accounts.

It may be recalled that the panchayat raj commissioner in a video conference recently with the district panchayat officers of 26 districts instructed them to pay electricity charges from the general funds of the village panchayats. The sarpanches expressed their inability to pay the power bills. The special chief secretary assured the sarpanches that he would speak to the commissioner. The sarpanches informed the special CS regarding their demands.

Later, the sarpanches also met additional commission of panchayat raj Dr Mahesh Kumar and submitted the memorandum to him too. West Godavari Sarpanches Welfare Association president Kolakaluri Dharma Raju, state treasurer Vari Sridevi, state vice-president Shaik Allabakshu (Palnadu district), state general secretary Arudala Sambasiva Rao, Guntur sarpanches association vice-president Kornepati Ashok Kumar, executive secretary Mabbu Sirisha Sudhakar, Siva Satyanarayana and others were present.