BRS leader Harish Rao demands the release of funds for local bodies.

A senior BRS leader and former Minister T Harish Rao lashed out at the Congress-led State government over the severe neglect of village administration and sanitation across Telangana.

Since the Congress assumed power in the State, funds to local bodies have been kept pending for seven months.

The administration in villages and towns has collapsed over the past seven months of Congress rule. The government is letting garbage pile up in villages instead of conducting special drives to prevent seasonal diseases. Sanitation workers aren't getting paid, and panchayat secretaries have to cover their monthly expenses out of their pockets. He asked, "What kind of administration is being run by the Congress?"

Harish Rao addressed media persons at Telangana Bhavan here on Tuesday, noting the significant progress made under the BRS rule, noting the transformation in village infrastructure.

Palle Pragathi was conducted under the K Chandrashekhar Rao government to improve living standards in villages. There are 12,769 gram panchayats in the villages with tractors, up from 87. As a result, the state of Telangana received numerous accolades, including the Deenadayal and Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

He lamented the current state of affairs, where no funds have been released to rural or urban local bodies in the past seven months. Our villages became role models for the country after we released funds every month. Now that sanitation has fallen apart, tractors are being seized for silly reasons such as non-payment of road tax and insurance, he added.

The former Minister emphasized the pressing issues by requesting the immediate payment of wages to sanitation workers, MPTCs, and ZPTCs. Rural and urban development was spent under the Palle Pragathi and Pattana Pragathi programmes by the previous BRS government.

The State government should release funds and take preventative measures against the spread of seasonal diseases such as malaria and dengue.

Even MPTCs and ZPTCs who are retiring have not received their salaries, which is unacceptable. He demanded that the government hand over pending bills and funds to Gram Panchayats and localities.

The State government's inaction regarding the tragic suicide of a farmer in Khammam district was criticized by Harish Rao. Prabhakar's death is a direct result of the Congress rule, he said.

The ruling party leaders turned a deaf ear to his repeated requests over the encroachment of his land, forcing him to end his life.

A government job and 25 lakh ex gratia are what we're asking for. Harish Rao demanded that a high-level inquiry be conducted and strict action taken against the officials responsible, besides ensuring that the land belonging to the deceased is safely handed over to the family.

The proposed meeting between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy to discuss inter-state issues was welcomed by Harish Rao.

There are seven mandals and the Lower Sileru project in Telangana that were taken away against the wishes of the people and merged with Andhra Pradesh during the State split.

The Telangana government should press Andhra Pradesh to resolve this issue before taking on any other issue.