Latest news with #Sarpanches
Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gujarat CM felicitates newly elected sarpanches, warns them against being misguided towards corruption
Stressing that the state government has a zero-tolerance policy against corruption, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel Friday warned the newly elected Sarpanches and members of the gram panchayats in Gujarat against graft, asking them to guard against 'being misguided by anybody'. Addressing a function in Gandhinagar to felicitate the newly elected Sarpanches and members of gram panchayats, the CM said, 'The governments of the state and Centre allocate sufficient money for the development of villages. Today, by allocating a grant of Rs 1,236 to the gram panchayats, (the government has) attained the resolve of fulfilling what is promised. This money, Rs 1,236 crore, too, will go to the accounts of you all.' He further said, 'Since I have talked about money, let me tell you that it is not worth it to run after money. Else, you know that there is zero tolerance currently… No one has been spared once caught and no one will be spared in the future as well. All of you are new, so you should be careful that nobody misguides you.' Referring to the recently held elections of gram panchayats, the CM said that they have broken all the records. 'As per the information I have, this time, the number of Sarpanches in the age group of 21-40 is 42%. Among them, the number of Sarpanches below the age of 30 are 616 while 1,341 of them are between the age of 31 and 40. As many as 1,337 Sarpanches are between the ages of 41 and 50, while 1,326 are above 50 years old… And one of them, sitting here, has done Ph D,' CM Patel said. In May, the Gujarat State Election Commission had declared elections to 4,564 gram panchayats in the state. Out of them, 761 have emerged as Samras Gram Panchayats where the villagers chose their Sarpanch and ward members through consensus; 56 of them are Mahila Samras Gram Panchayats. On Friday, as the newly elected Sarpanches and ward members were felicitated, the CM also disbursed over Rs 35 crore to the Samras Gram Panchayats for village development. On the occasion, the CM announced a decision of the government to double the allocation of funds for cleanliness in villages. He said that the allocation of Rs 4 per person for cleanliness in a village has been hiked to Rs 4 per person. Held at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, the function was also attended by Union Minister for Jal Shakti and Gujarat BJP Chief C R Paatil, Rural Development ministers Raghavji Patel and Kunvarji Halpati, among others. Addressing the function, Paatil asked the newly elected Sarpanches and panchayat members to take up the responsibility of cleanliness and water conservation in their respective villages. Paatil said through water conservation, his ministry wants to bring out 150 districts of the country from the tag of dark zones. Earlier in the day, Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Paatil also inaugurated a Solar Frame Plant of a private company, H&H Aluminium Private Limited, in Rajkot. Paatil virtually inaugurated the plant from a function in Ahmedabad. Addressing the gathering, Paatil called upon the industries to come forward in complementing the government's efforts towards water conservation by recharging the groundwater level.
Hans India
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Govt diverted 15th FC funds, YSRCP alleges
Puttaparthi: The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) State General Secretary for Panchayati Raj, Regatipalli Suresh Reddy, alleged that the coalition government is diverting the 15th Finance Commission (FC) funds sanctioned by the Central Government instead of disbursing them to local bodies. He demanded that the funds be directly allocated to local public representatives such as MPPs, MPTCs, and Sarpanches to enable their proper utilization at the village level. Suresh Reddy submitted a memorandum to Sri Sathya Sai District Collector TS Chetan during the Public Grievance Redressal Programmr held at the Collectorate on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, he urged the government to implement the powers of Sarpanches as per Articles 73 and 74. He expressed concern over the current government's approach of treating Sarpanches as government employees, stating that they are elected public representatives and must be given due respect. He further demanded that all welfare schemes be extended to the families of Sarpanches and raised serious concerns over alleged irregularities in the execution of MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) works. The YSRCP leaders present called for a thorough investigation into corruption in the scheme and insisted that all rural employment projects should be executed through Panchayats, ensuring timely wage payments to workers. Additionally, they demanded immediate postings for the 1,320 Panchayat Secretaries currently awaiting assignment and the release of pending salaries. The leaders also urged the State Government to transfer the Rs1,150 crore released by the Centre to the local bodies without delay.
Hans India
13-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Foundation Laid for Mission Bhagiratha Water Tank to Resolve Drinking Water Issues in Gattu Mandal Villages
Gadwal: A foundation ceremony (Bhoomi Pooja) was held today for the construction of a 2-lakh-liter capacity water tank under the Mission Bhagiratha scheme at the R&R Center in Chinnonipalli village of Gattu Mandal. The ceremony was led by former Mandal Parishad President (MPP) J. Vijay Kumar, accompanied by Mission Bhagiratha Deputy Executive Engineer Mr. Ravichandra Reddy. The tank, being constructed at a cost of ₹19 lakhs, aims to address the drinking water scarcity in four villages—Chinnonipalli, Anthampalli, Idigonipalli, and Sankapuram. Acting on the instructions of Hon'ble MLA Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, this project is a major step toward ensuring consistent potable water supply to the region. Speaking on the occasion, former MPP J. Vijay Kumar stated that the water tank will significantly alleviate the long-standing drinking water issues in the area. He expressed gratitude to MLA Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy for sanctioning the funds, District Collector B.M. Santosh, and Mission Bhagiratha engineering officials for their cooperation. He also urged the contractor to complete the construction promptly with high quality. Participants in the Ceremony Included: Panchayat Secretary, Ravinder Goud; Executive Engineer Aditya; village elders Uppari Srinivasulu; former Sarpanches Chagadona Shankaran and Anthampalli Anjaneyulu Goud; Kurva Narasimhulu; Shivanna Goud; L. Narasimha Reddy; Ramachandra Goud; U. Venkatesh; Bajari Jayaram Goud; Vagubai Eranna; Yankanna Goud; Boya Raghavendra; Boya Ramesh; Boya Thimmappa; K. Narasimhulu; Shivaramaudu; Boya Hanumanthu and several others. This development marks a promising move towards resolving water issues in these rural communities.
Hans India
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
KCR is very much among people
Hyderabad: Stating that BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao is not available to the people was a misconception, party working president KT Rama Rao on Friday said KCR was very much available to the people and behind the party leaders as guiding force and if KCR comes to the Assembly, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will run away from the House. The BRS working president made these comments while speaking to The Hans India on Friday. Replying to a question on CM Revanth Reddy's comments that KCR should come to the Assembly, KTR asked, 'What should KCR hear in the Assembly? My personal opinion as a KCR fan is he should not come to the Assembly." "It doesn't matter even if KCR doesn't come to the Assembly, where foul language dominate the discussions. We are 25 members, and we are enough to face the Congress counterparts.' BRS leader said that KCR was not a person to hold post of the Leader of Opposition but the post of Chief Minister. He recalled that stalwarts like NT Rama Rao, J Jayalalithaa also did not go to the Assembly. He said that KCR was available to the people of his constituency in Gajwel. 'We are all soldiers of KCR, he has trained us and he is making us work. From Lagacherla to HCU and other public issues, he is the guiding force,' he said. Doors shut for defectors KTR said that the 10 MLAs who have left the party will not be taken back. There are five to six members ready to come back but our party workers will be dejected with this. My personal opinion is that we should not take them back. The party will take a decision when it comes for a discussion, but my personal opinion is that they should not be taken because politics is not a revolving door. It will be an insult to the leaders who are working hard. I don't think KCR has any such idea to get them back. KCR is a democratic leader. In the 2009 elections, KCR wanted an alliance with PRP, but the party leaders insisted on TDP. KCR accepted the majority opinion then." When asked about the change of name of the party, KTR said the party has changed its name to BRS when the state schemes were becoming inspirational to the country. Some of the Sarpanches from Maharashtra insisted on merging their village with Telangana. 'There will be an era of coalition, and we thought why we should not become a decisive force? Technically, only the name has changed. We failed in our first attempt. We lost by a whisker with a 1.5 per cent vote difference. First, we should win at our home,' said KTR. He said the Congress party's name was changed many times and also the BJP's name. 'Congress is our main rival' The BRS leader said that the Congress party would be their main rival in the state. He said the BJP had an alliance with the TDP and won five seats in 2004 and in the next election they won only one seat going alone. In the last election, they won eight seats. The BJP has eight MPs, all of them were defeated during the Assembly elections. Their top leaders Bandi Sanjay, Kishan Reddy, Dr Laxman, DK Aruna, Raghunandan, D Arvind, Eatala Rajender were all defeated by the BRS candidates. When Sanjay cannot win in his own seat, how he can ensure victory of others, he asked. The BJP is not a force in Telangana and there was no question of alliance with them. KTR said that the Chief Minister had no guts to hold the local body elections in the state but added that they were ready to contest and can win the elections. GHMC elections Regarding the GHMC elections, he said that Revanth Reddy don't have any idea on what to do with the corporation. 'Will he make GHMC into three corporations? Let him decide what he will do. If they change, the delimitation should be taken up. He is keeping cards close to his chest. Either way we are prepared. If they are going to conduct elections in December 2025, we are ready to face,' said KTR. On the question of what the BRS has achieved in 16 months, KTR said that the party filled confidence among the people that there is a party that will fight for them. When the BJP colluded with the Congress, there was a feeling that the BRS is for people. Telangana Bhavan has become a 'Janata Garage'. 'During the 16 months, we faced big blows, we lost power with slight margin, KCR got injured, Kavitha got arrested, lost in the Lok Sabha elections, ten MLAs left the party but still BRS today is standing firm and is able to inspire confidence not only among the party cadre but also among the people,' said KTR. The BRS leader said the BRS would not politicise the Pahalgam issue. This is not the right time. Wounds are fresh, let them heal, anybody feels that they can derive political mileage from that sacrilege, he said.
Hindustan Times
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Punjab: Mann seeks support of panchayats for anti-drug drive
Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday sought support of village panchayats for his government's ongoing anti-drug drive 'Yudh Nasheyan Virush' and announced financial assistance for villages declared as "drug free". Mann further promised to develop these villages into model villages and also announced to hike honorarium for 'Sarpanchs' to ₹2,000 per month. He was addressing a gathering during the state-level function to mark 'Panchayat Diwas' here. A village that will declare itself "drug-free" will be given financial assistance worth ₹1 lakh, besides other ultra-modern facilities, Mann said. Drug free villages will be developed as model villages and no stone will be left unturned to give fillip to their development, he said. He asked village 'Sarpanchs' to play a proactive role in this noble cause so that the scourge of drugs is wiped out from the state with active public support. Mann said the state government will not sit idly and watch smugglers bloom at the cost of bodies and pyres of drug victims. The state government has already snapped the supply line of drugs and big fish involved in this heinous crime have been put behind bars, the chief minister said. For the first time, the property of the drug smugglers acquired illegally is being destroyed by the state government so that it acts as a deterrent for others, he added. Meanwhile, Mann announced that Sarpanches would be given an honorarium worth ₹2,000 per month starting from the day they were elected. Earlier his predecessors had promised ₹1,200 as honorarium but that decision never saw the light of the day, he said. Village panchayats are the most significant organ of the democratic system which has been instrumental in transformation of the rural areas. They are known as 'foundations of democracy' and play a major role in implementing the policies of the state government at the ground level. He reiterated that the state government is committed to extend all possible support and cooperation to the Sarpanchs as they played a pro-active role in the process of overall rural development. They are the real eyes and ears of the state government as they are well connected with the masses at ground level, he said. He said that it is very unfortunate that several works in villages are jeopardised due to widespread groupism in the villages. Sarpanchs must accord top priority to abolish groupism in villages.
