Release pending bills of panchayats: Harish

BRS MLA Harish Rao recently expressed concern over the neglect of village panchayats by the Congress government. He emphasized that unpaid pending bills have made sanitation management extremely difficult. He asked why the state government is panicking when these issues are raised. “We repeatedly state facts, but Minister Seethakka accuses us of lying,” he said. “What is a lie? Is it false that the government hasn’t paid even a single paisa to village panchayats in the last nine months? Is it a lie that Rs 2100 crore, received from the Centre under schemes like MGNREGA and Health Mission was diverted from villages?” he said. “Is it a lie that Rs 500 crore from the 15th Finance Commission was withheld from village panchayats? Is it false that former sarpanches were detained at police stations when they called a protest at the Secretariat for pending bills?” he said.