Adilabad: Many temples are likely to come up in the newly-created gram panchayats, thanks to the Panchayat Raj, especially in tribal areas. Residents are auctioning sarpanch posts to construct temples with the money they get from it, or are unanimously electing sarpanchs to cash in on the TRS offer of Rs 15 lakh, in old Adilabad district.
There are 334 gram panchayats, including 161 newly-created ones in Kumaram Bheem Asifabad district and 467 gram panchayats in Adilabad district, including 243 newly-created ones.
Auctioning of sarpanch posts is more rampant in the tribal areas where the candidates are offering money for construction of Hanuman temples.
In Mancherial district, one of the two women contestants reportedly offered Rs 8 lakh for the post of sarpanch and got elected to the newly created Lambadipalle gram panchayat in Chennur mandal.
It is a general practice that political leaders offer donations for construction of temples in the villages in their respective mandals or Assembly constituencies. Construction of Lord Hanuman and Pochamma temples is more popular, specially when a new village is being established.
Many villages that were earlier part of existing gram panchayats have been separated and upgraded as new gram panchayats. Some of these villages do not have temples of their own, and politicians are taking advantage of it.
