Hyderabad: Telangana panchayat raj minister Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) on Friday urged the 16th Finance Commission (16th FC) to provide special relaxations for tribal, Scheduled Area and backward village panchayats in the proposed performance-based grant system, saying they should not be disadvantaged because of their limited revenue-generating capacity.Participating in a national workshop on rural local body recommendations chaired by Union panchayat raj minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Seethakka said the performance of gram panchayats should not be judged solely on own-source revenue or tax collections. Parameters such as delivery of public services, sanitation, transparency, digital governance and people’s participation should also carry equal weight while assessing local bodies, she added.She said many gram panchayats in Scheduled Areas have small populations and limited revenue sources, making it difficult for them to meet revenue-linked eligibility criteria.Seethakka also urged the 16th FC to ensure that development grants are not withheld from the 62 gram panchayats in Telangana where elections are yet to be held because of pending court cases. Since the delay was due to judicial proceedings and not administrative lapses, the affected villages should not be denied central funds, she said.She also sought higher weightage in fund allocation for Scheduled Areas, backward districts and geographically difficult regions, saying the cost of delivering public services in such areas was significantly higher than elsewhere.
