Hyderabad: Former minister and BRS leader T. Harish Rao urged panchayat raj and rural development minister Seetakka to address the long-pending issues faced by gram panchayats in the state. He specifically called for the immediate release of funds for sanitation and other essential daily works in villages, as well as the clearance of pending bills for former sarpanches and panchayat secretaries for work carried out over a year ago. In an open letter to the minister, Harish Rao also demanded the regularisation of services for panchayat secretaries working on an outsourced basis, in line with the Congress’ pre-election promise made in its ‘Abhayahastam’ manifesto. He appealed to the minister to conduct special sanitation drives during the rainy season to prevent seasonal diseases and improve hygiene in rural areas. Pointing out that sanitation workers have not received their salaries for the past three months and are facing severe financial hardship, Harish Rao urged the government to release their payments without further delay. He also criticised the delay in salary disbursements for data entry operators who participated in the household family survey conducted last November, calling the non-payment “deplorable” and demanding immediate release of their wages. Harish Rao said that despite the non-release of funds by the Congress government, Panchayat staff have tried to continue maintenance work by taking private loans. “On one hand, these loans are piling up daily, and on the other, the government is not releasing funds, this has severely increased the financial burden on panchayat secretaries, leading to mental stress,” he said. He also expressed concern that, with the local body elections approaching, the release of funds may become even more difficult. Former sarpanches are also under significant stress as their bills for previously executed works remain unpaid, he added. Due to the lack of maintenance of streetlights, many villages are now plunged into darkness. Harish Rao noted that the situation has become so dire that officials are unable to refuel tractors provided under the BRS government or pay the Road Transport Authority (RTA) taxes, resulting in the tractors being locked and left unused.
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