Hyderabad, Nov.7 (NSS): Minister for IT and Industries Duddilla Sridhar Babu has strongly criticised BRS leaders for staging protests with village sarpanches.
Sridhar Babu said it is strange that BRS party leaders, who brought sarpanches onto the roads without paying the bills for contract work during the last ten years, are now staging dharnas in front of them.
“When local contractors were unwilling to take up small development works, sarpanches stepped up and completed projects on their own. But, instead of clearing the bills, the previous BRS government had diverted nearly Rs.1,300 crore intended for village development into other areas, leaving the sarpanches unpaid and struggling. Now, the BRS leaders are showing false sympathy towards the sarpanches,” he criticised.
The Minister said many sarpanches had to secure private loans with high-interest rates to complete community projects and these debts had now become overwhelming due to the previous BRS government.
This burden has been a factor in the tragic suicides of 60 sarpanches, with at least 200 others reportedly attempting suicide due to financial stress without any response from the previous administration, he pointed out.
In a press release here on Thursday, Sridhar Babu appealed to the sarpanches not to be misled into protests by those who had previously failed them.
He assured that the State government is committed to settle their dues and support the rural development initiatives.
