Sarpanches urge Pawan to unlock funds, ease curbs

Vijayawada: A delegation of the Andhra Pradesh Sarpanches Welfare Association submitted a memorandum to Deputy Chief Minister and minister for panchayat raj and rural development Pawan Kalyan urging immediate steps for the development of gram panchayats and the resolution of long-pending issues faced by sarpanches across the state.

The delegation met the Deputy Chief Minister on Tuesday at the Secretariat. It was led by Chilakalapudi Papa Rao, president of the association and chairman of the Agnikula Kshatriya Development Welfare Corporation.

Also present were Dr Jasti Veeranjaneyulu, national vice-president of the All India Panchayat Parishad (Delhi) and chief adviser to the AP Sarpanches Welfare Association; executive committee member Chandu Venkata Sambasiva Rao; and YSR Kadapa District Sarpanches Association president Konireddy Sivachandra Reddy, among others.

During the meeting, the delegation urged the Deputy Chief Minister to issue immediate orders for the release of stamp duty funds that have been pending for over a year and are due to gram panchayats.

They also requested the removal of government-imposed restrictions on the utilisation of 15th Finance Commission funds. In addition, they sought the release of pending dues payable to Gram Panchayats from the Kadapa Urban Development Authority and raised several other related issues.

Pawan Kalyan patiently heard the concerns of the sarpanches and assured the delegation that prompt action would be taken to resolve the issues.

Expressing gratitude for his assurance, leaders of the Sarpanches Welfare Association thanked the Deputy Chief Minister for his positive response.

Later, they also submitted a memorandum with similar demands to panchayat raj commissioner Krishna Teja.