Govt Takes Serious Note of ‘Powerful’ VDCs

�Adilabad: �In an unexpected turn of events, the Telangana government has taken a

serious note of alleged unconstitutional activities being carried out by

village development committees (VDCs) in the northern districts of the

state.

The development comes as the state gets ready for upcoming local body polls.

Additional collector for local bodies, Nirmal district, Faizan Ahmed said

gram panchayats are constituting village development committees without

official orders and government permits. He said this is causing panic among

the people.

Ahmed said undemocratic activities are being carried out by VDCs, which has

been noted by the government. He said VDCs are creating hurdles in the

implementation of government schemes.

He warned 'officials' of VDCs of stern legal action.

In north Telangana, VDCs came up after the Naxal movement started to wean

off. Most VDCs came up in erstwhile Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and

Nizamabad districts. Today, VDCs are most active in Nirmal, Mancherial and

Adilabad districts.

The state government has been informed that VDCs are creating an environment

which is suited for a particular religion. This in turn may lead to election

results getting influenced on religious lines. The government is reportedly

looking into the role of VDCs during the last Assembly and Lok Sabha

elections in the state.

It was reported that some VDCs are acting as an alternative to the Panchayat

Raj system and in some cases VDCs are exercising more power than panchayati

officials.

Village development committees are allegedly conducting auctions of the post

of sarpanches. VDCs are also accused of socially boycotting persons based on

caste.

Further, VDCs are accused of collecting lakhs of rupees by giving permission

for sand mining and liquor sales. This money is said to be used for

religious purposes like building grand temples, instead of development

works.