Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday, May 18, disapproved of the Union government transferring funds directly from Delhi to local bodies under schemes like NREGA and PM Gram Sadak Yojana without involving the states. KCR, who held a meeting with officials on Palle Pragati and other state government programmes, said the state governments are familiar with local issues. Since the launch of the 3-tier Panchayat raj system in the country, the Chief Minister said it is a cheap practice that the Union governments from the Rajiv Gandhi era to the present Prime Minister are transferring funds to the villages directly without trusting the state government, an official release said.
“It is not a supportive practice of transferring funds under Jawahar Rojgar Yojana, PM Gram Sadak Yojana, and employment scheme (NREGA) among others to the local bodies directly from Delhi. The states are only well-informed about the local issues. It is not a good practice to distribute money to the daily labourers directly by the Union government from New Delhi,” KCR said.
Observing that many villages and urban bodies still face problems like lack of power supply, drinking water and irrigation water, among others, he said it is not welcome that the Union government involves itself in states' affairs without concentrating on such important problems. Noting that the Telangana had to face many challenges after its formation due to backwardness witnessed during undivided Andhra Pradesh, KCR said the state has now progressed on various fronts.
The Chief Minister expressed happiness over the nationwide appreciation of Palle Pragati (progress of villages) and Pattana Pragati (progress of towns) programmes being implemented in Telangana, the release said. It is a matter of pride for the state to have won many awards announced for villages by the Union government, he said. The Chief Minister instructed the officials to fully complete work on ‘Vaikuntadhamams' (graveyards), it said.
The Chief Minister said Telangana excels many states, including the Prime Minister's native state of Gujarat, besides Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka in crop production and per capita income. KCR instructed ministers and other representatives of the people to speak on the development of the state during the State Formation Day celebrations on June 2. He has asked Collectors to prepare the speeches with detailed information, the release said.