Panchayat Raj Minister E Dayakar Rao lashed out at Centre for giving awards to Telangana, funds to other States

Panchayat Raj Minister E Dayakar Rao lashed out at the Centre for cutting down the funds to Gram Panchayats in Telangana but giving funds to other States.

The minister was critical of the NDA government at the Centre, while replying to discussion on demands in the Assembly on Thursday. He said that the Centre was praising the State for better implementation of the schemes but it was not responding to the requests for funds.

"I have got so many awards for Gram Panchayats, sanitation. The central minister gives one award after the other but when it comes to giving money, they turn their face away.

We are demanding Rs 2,000 crore for maintenance of Mission Bhagiratha, they have given to other states but not to Telangana," said Dayakar Rao, alleging partiality by the Centre.

The Centre used to provide Rs 3,008 crore to Gram Panchayats and the State government provides matching grant but the Central assistance has been stopped, he alleged.

The minister gave figures stating that Centre allocated Rs 1,600 crore to Assam for Jal Jeevan Mission, Rs 1,800 crore to Bihar, Rs 1,100 crore to Karnataka, Rs 1,200 crore to Madhya Pradesh, Rs 2,500 crore to Maharashtra, Rs 1,600 crore to West Bengal and Rs 2,500 crore for Maharashtra. Telangana was allotted Rs 412 crore but gave only Rs 24 crore whereas it gave all the money to Gujarat.

The PR minister said that the PallePragathi program taken up by the government has resulted in a big change in the villages.

Accepting that there was pressure on the Sarpanchas in the villages, Dayakar Rao said, "We had to pressurise them, they may have difficulties, but the results are also good, and they will get credit for the work done in the GP."