Panchayats to get stamp duty funds

Hyderabad: Panchayat Raj Minister J Krishna Rao on Sunday promised to release funds to panchayats towards their stamp duty revenue.At a meeting of Telangana Sarpanches Forum, Krishna Rao said that the present government had taken better steps to strengthen panchayats than any of the previous regimes.

Krishna Rao wanted sarpanches to work sincerely so as to make all the villages clean under the Swachh Bharat scheme. Sarpanches should ensure construction of individual toilets to all. They should help enhance awareness among the people on cashless transactions. Haritha Haram programme should be implemented in the villages, he said.

Forum state president Somi Reddy and national president Yakub Reddy drew the attention of the Minister towards various issues being faced by the villages and asked him to resolve the problems at the earliest. They also thanked the Minister for giving relief to panchayats in paying dues of electricity bills by allowing to pay 10 per cent of the total amount, releasing the 14th Finance Commission funds directly to the villages and for doing away with the counter signature system.