Hyderabad: The Congress govt is most likely to do away with the previous BRS govt-introduced joint cheque power system to sarpanch and upa sarpanch in gram panchayats, and revert back to joint cheque power of sarpanch and govt-appointed panchayat secretary.Officials of the panchayat raj and rural development are preparing proposals to this effect. These proposals would be placed before the panchayat raj minister D Anasuya soon. A final decision will be taken by chief minister A Revanth Reddy on this issue after discussing it with his cabinet colleagues.Though such a proposal was made in December 2024 itself, it was not implemented.The previous BRS govt had brought the joint cheque power to sarpanch and upa sarpanch in the Panchayati Raj Act of 2018. As a result, the Congress govt would need to make amendment to the provisions of the Act in the state assembly to revert back to the previous system.Sources in the panchayat raj department told TOI that several development works were getting delayed due to differences between sarpanch and upa sarpanch belonging to different political parties in many gram panchayats.“Several instances have come to the notice of senior panchayat raj officials that cheques were not signed by upa sarpanch citing various reasons. Some of these incidents were from panchayats where the sarpanch is either from the SC or ST community and the upa sarpanch from other communities,” a source said.However, sarpanches said it is not only a matter of caste difference but other factors like personal political rivalry, one-upmanship between sarpanch and upa sarpanch. In some cases, it would be the case of a sarpanch or upa sarpanch expecting personal benefits.Sarpanchula Sankshema Sangham state president G Lakshmi Narasimha Reddy told TOI that there have been cases when upa sarpanches did not sign the cheque for payment of monthly honorarium to the sarpanch. “A sarpanch is elected by the voters of entire village where as an upa sarpanch is a ward member. Reverting back to the old system of sarpanch and a govt official (panchayat secretary) having joint cheque power will be a better option,” he said.However, sarpanches JAC leader Yadaiah Goud asked what is the guarantee that there would be no stand off between the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary. “In both the systems, there will always be scope for differences, with one of them or both expecting personal benefits. The state govt should focus on a genuine issue like clearing pending bills of over ₹350 crore. We will gherao the camp office of chief minister A Revanth Reddy on June 1 if the pending bills are not released,” he said.
