Return of FC funds to Panchayats demanded

Ongole: Prakasam Zilla Panchayat Sarpanchula Sangam staged a protest in front of the Collectorate here on Monday and submitted a representation to the Collector demanding the State government to return the funds to a tune of Rs 8,630 crore withdrawn from the 14th and 15th Finance Commission funds immediately. They also demanded the government to release the share of panchayats in the taxes and cesses pending from 2019 and continue providing free electricity to minor panchayats as given earlier by the former Chief Ministers.

Speaking at the protest, sarpanches leaders G Veerabhadrachari, R Sandhya, Ramasubbareddy, Y Rajasekhar Reddy, Atmarao, Bolineni Nageswara Rao and others said that since the elections held for panchayats in the State, the government didn’t release even a single rupee to panchayats but withdrawn 14tj and 15th Finance Commission funds of Rs 8,629.79 crore released to 12,918 panchayats across the State from 2018-19 to 2021-22 to utilise for its schemes, without the knowledge or authentication of the sarpanches. They said the government even didn’t release Rs 4,041 crore funds from 15th Finance Commission for 2022-23 and 2023-24. They said that the government has to release about Rs 3,000 crore as the share of the panchayats in the taxes and cesses and demanded immediate release.

They complained that the government is running a parallel system through its party by appointing volunteers, village secretariat, grihasaradhi system, and secretariat conveners and hijacking the panchayats’ rights and powers against 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. They demanded the government continue the earlier system of releasing NREGA funds to panchayats directly to facilitate sarpanches and gram sabha to decide the works to be taken up under the scheme. They also demanded the government for cancellation of the memo issued for the collection of electricity charges from their own funds and finance commission funds.