Hyderabad: When a
sarpanch
narrated her ordeal in getting funds sanctioned from the government, finance minister T
Harish Rao handed over Rs 1 lakh to her at a Rythu Vedika inauguration function on Sunday.
Narsamma, sarpanch of Madur village in Chinna Shankarampet mandal, said she had to borrow money to take up developmental works in the village and an interest of Rs 1 lakh has now accumulated on the loans she took. “I have borrowed money but I have not received any funds from the government. I am in dire need of money,” the sarpanch told the minister.
Harish Rao, who was taken aback, asked the panchayat raj officials as to why there was a delay in clearing her bills. When they said that there was a technical issue with the bank because of which the funds could not be released, the minister asked them to resolve it immediately and see to it that the bills of the sarpanch for the works taken up in her village are cleared.
To tide over her financial crisis, the minister gave her Rs 1 lakh. Medak legislator Padma Devender Reddy’s husband, IFFCO director P Devender Reddy arranged the cash, which was handed over to the sarpanch by the minister.
Narsamma said after her husband died, she received Rs 5 lakh from Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima. She used the money to repay a part of the borrowed money. The sarpanch had reportedly borrowed up to Rs 16 lakh to undertake various works in the last two years.
When TOI tried to reach Medak district panchayat raj executive engineer to find out the reasons for the delay in bills not getting cleared, he responded saying that he was in a meeting and could not take the call.
Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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