Harish condemn arrests of former sarpanches protesting for pending bills

Former Minister T Harish Rao and BRS MLAs extended their support to former sarpanches, who are currently held in Tirumalagiri and Bollaram police stations, for demanding the release of pending bills. Harish Rao highlighted that 6,000 former sarpanches had been arrested across the state and confined in 14 police stations in Hyderabad. He criticised the government for arresting those who worked for village development by taking loans, selling assets, and even selling gold belonging to their wives and children to clear pending bills.
When sarpanches asked for the payment of these bills, the Chief Minister ordered their detention. Harish Rao questioned if imprisoning sarpanches who served their villages is the definition of governance. He pointed out that Telangana villages have been neglected in the eight months of this administration. He accused the government of withholding Rs 800 crore from the NREGA funds received from Delhi and Rs. 500 crores from the 15th Finance Commission.
The monthly Pallevelugu funds have also been stopped, leading to shortage of bleaching powder and waste collection in villages. It led spread of diseases due to poor sanitation, with a significant rise in dengue and malaria cases. He stated that the government has neglected villages and demanded the immediate release of bills for former sarpanches before new ones take office. He assured that this issue will be raised in the Assembly until resolved. Harish Rao accused the government of using funds from Delhi while paying big contractors and neglecting those who did small works. He suggested that the government might be favoring contractors who visit their homes and called on the Congress government to resolve the ex-sarpanches’ issues immediately.