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Union minister Bandi Sanjayseeks probe into diversion of central funds
Union minister of state for home affairs Bandi Sanjay on Thursday demanded a comprehensive and impartial inquiry into the allegations of diversion of 15th Finance Commission grants released to gram panchayats in Telangana by the Congress government
Union minister of state for home affairs Bandi Sanjay on Thursday demanded a comprehensive and impartial inquiry into the allegations of diversion of 15th Finance Commission grants released to gram panchayats in Telangana by the Congress government.
In a statement, Sanjay said he has written a letter to Union panchayat raj minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) and Telangana panchayat raj minister Dhanasari Seethakka seeking an inquiry in the wake of complaints from sarpanches from across Telangana that Finance Commission grants were being misused in violation of the guidelines. He said he had earlier written a similar letter to the Centre on the matter.
In his earlier letter to Rajiv Ranjan, Sanjay stated that the Centre had released ₹2,293 crore under the 15th Finance Commission grants to the gram panchayats in Telangana in phases.
“However, it has come to my notice that these funds are being diverted towards staff salaries, electricity bills, routine maintenance expenses and other administrative expenditures, instead of being spent on village development works,” he said.
In his fresh letter, the Union minister of state said he had also attached the representations of the sarpanches with his letter to the Central and the state ministers. He expressed concern that violating the rules for using these funds could seriously affect the development of villages and the financial autonomy of gram panchayats and sought an impartial inquiry into the matter.
The Telangana government, however, denied Sanjay’s allegations. State panchayat raj and rural development commissioner Divya Devarajan clarified that under Section 52 of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, maintenance of streetlights was a statutory responsibility of gram panchayats and that payment of electricity charges for street lighting was among their priority obligations.
“Besides, the tied component of the 15th finance commission grants was meant for the maintenance of drinking water supply systems. The untied component can be utilised for any of the 29 subjects, including the maintenance of community assets, distribution of electricity and drinking water,” she added.
