Revanth to Address Newly-Elected Congress-Backed Sarpanches
The meeting is also aimed at reassuring sarpanches, streamlining coordination with the administration, and accelerating the implementation of welfare and infrastructure schemes at the grassroots level.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy will address newly-elected sarpanches backed by the Congress at LB Stadium here on December 24, party sources said.
The meeting, being planned as a major outreach programme, will focus on village-level development and the role of gram panchayats in the state’s governance agenda over the next three years. The Chief Minister is expected to unveil a comprehensive roadmap for rural development and outline the Congress government’s priorities for strengthening local self-governance.
The programme was originally scheduled for December 22 but was deferred in view of the state government’s decision to postpone the oath-taking ceremonies of newly elected sarpanches from December 20 to December 22.
With sarpanches across Telangana now set to assume office on December 22, the Chief Minister’s programme has been rescheduled to ensure their participation. Party leaders said the December 24 meeting would provide an immediate platform for interaction between the government and the grassroots leadership.
The five-year tenure of gram panchayats had ended in January 2024, resulting in a prolonged period without elected local bodies. During this phase, the Centre had stopped releasing 15th Finance Commission grants to gram panchayats in Telangana, citing the absence of elected representatives.
The delay in funds, estimated at nearly Rs 3,000 crore over the past two years, led to financial stress at the panchayat level and caused an acute staff crunch, affecting routine civic works and service delivery in villages.
With the newly-elected representatives taking charge on December 22, the Centre is expected to resume the release of pending grants. Officials anticipate that the arrears may be cleared before March 31, 2026, coinciding with the end of the 2025-26 financial year.
Sources indicated that the state government is also considering a matching grant of around Rs 3,000 crore, which would effectively make nearly Rs 6,000 crore available for village development initiatives.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is expected to discuss the utilisation of these funds, proposed development programmes, and additional financial support for gram panchayats during the remaining three financial years of the current Congress government’s tenure.
The meeting is also aimed at reassuring sarpanches, streamlining coordination with the administration, and accelerating the implementation of welfare and infrastructure schemes at the grassroots level.
Congress MLAs and district in-charge ministers have been instructed to compile constituency-wise lists of sarpanches elected with Congress support. Party leaders said the exercise would help ensure broad participation in the Hyderabad meeting and strengthen the organisational network at the village level.
