Vijayawada: Government starving villages of funds, alleges CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna

Vijayawada : CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna came down heavily on Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for diluting the panchayat Raj system in the state. In a press statement on Monday, the CPI secretary said besides not allocating funds to the panchayats, it also diverted the Central funds intended for development of panchayats. Due to lack of funds, the developmental works in villages like drinking water supply, road repairs and electricity have been stalled, he said.

Referring to the Panchayat Raj awards being given by the state government, the CPI leader said that awards are not meant to be given by on our own but have to be earned by showing development. He pointed out that not a single panchayat had been selected for panchayat award given by the Central government despite our neighbouring state Telangana achieving 10 national awards. He reminded the state had earned 89 national awards during 2018 to 2019.