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AP Govt, panchayats spat over drainage machines
The panchayat raj department’s plans to deploy mechanised drain cleaning machines (MDCM) in villages is facing resistance from sarpanches, employees and executive officers who are not ready to bear the expenses.
Visakhapatnam: The panchayat raj department’s plans to deploy mechanised drain cleaning machines (MDCM) in villages is facing resistance from sarpanches, employees and executive officers who are not ready to bear the expenses.
The panchayat raj department, in association with the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Cooperative Finance Corporation (APSCCFC), has procured MDCMs to clean the drains in villages. Under this scheme, the APSCCFC will provide finance to procure the machines.
They will be sanctioned to the sanitation workers of the SC community as an individual or a six-member group. According to the guidelines released, each machine is supposed to be clean two-km long drain per day and for each one km, Rs 3,583 will be paid.
Each cleaning machine must clean an average 150-km in each Assembly constituency and four times in a year. The ministry also directed appointment of one official to monitor the work.
The government directed the gram panchayats to meet the expenditure from its 14th Cinance Commission or its general funds. However, elected bodies in villages as well as administrative officials like Eos are strongly opposing this on the grounds that it would be impose an additional financial burden on them.
“Though it is a welcome decision, no gram panchayat will bear the expenditure. The panchayats were already overburdened. The government has clearly specified how 14th Finance Commission grants be utilised.
According to the guidelines, the gram panchayat is supposed to spend 50 per cent for CC roads, 30 per cent for electricity and 20 per cent for water and other works and no official and sarpanch is supposed deviate from these given heads. There is no chance to meet the expenditure from the general funds,” an executive officer of a major panchayat in West Godavari district said.
District panchayat officer have been directed to prepare the route map to clean the drains taking every Assembly constituency as one unit and also to provide the map three months in advance to the MDCMs. At the village level, the gram sarpanch and panchayat secretary have to take the responsibility to supervise the work. The secretary is supposed to upload the complete work on PRIS/Kaizala app every day.
“How it will be possible to bear such an expenditure? We are already having a tough time in meeting the essential needs of the village with meagre funds and revenues. Doubtless, drain cleaning with machines is a good idea, but the cost of the maintenance will be a big a trouble to the panchayats. The government should search an alternative,” said Nimmala Jhansi Rani, gram sarpanch, Adavikolanu village in the district.
