Telangana has done nothing wrong: State panchayati raj and rural development secretary

Telangana has done nothing wrong, the state government has said in response to the Centre's directive to pay ₹151.9 crore for alleged diversion of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme funds to schemes not permitted under the guidelines.
"Telangana has done nothing wrong. We have received a communication from the rural development ministry. We will take appropriate action," state panchayati raj and rural development secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania told ET. The Centre has served a notice to the TRS-led government to pay ₹1,51.9 crore by November 30.

State officials, however, said this was not "a notice" but a "communication" which was a regular process between the Centre and states.

The action comes after central teams found several implementation issues related to works undertaken under MGNREGA in Telangana. The Centre has pointed to the Telangana government that it had used central funds to undertake works like construction of fish drying platforms. "Construction of fish drying platforms can be understood in a coastal state but stands out as an aberration in a landlocked state like Telangana," a rural development ministry official said.

The Centre has locked horns with the Telangana government over implementation of MGNREGA even earlier. The rural development ministry had red-flagged the number of open works in different gram panchayats. The Centre had pointed out that several works dating back to the 2020-21 financial year were still under implementation in the state.