Congress tries to bust Twenty20’s development claims citing fund lapses

The Congress has questioned the development claims made by Twenty20, citing alleged lapses in plan funds in the four grama panchayats governed by the political outfit backed by Kitex Group in Ernakulam.

Senior Congress leader and Chalakudy MP Benny Behanan on Saturday (November 29) said that plan funds to the tune of ₹19.4 crore had lapsed in Kizhakambalam panchayat during the past 10 years under the Twenty20 administration. Citing an RTI reply, he said that Kunnathunad panchayat had reported a lapse of ₹8.91 crore, Mazhuvannoor ₹12.99 crore, and Aikkaranadu ₹2.55 crore in the past five years since Twenty20 came to power in the local bodies in 2020.

Mr. Behanan said that Kizhakkambalam panchayat, the home turf of Twenty20, had fallen to the 70th position in Ernakulam in plan fund expenditure in the 2023-24 financial year and the 33rd in 2024-25, while the panchayat was at the seventh position by the end of the 2010-15 term when the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) was in power there. He said the Twenty20-governed panchayats were not among the 22 local bodies that spent over 100% of the plan funds, including spillover amounts from the previous fiscal, or 21 local bodies that spent up to 95% of funds during the previous fiscal.

The MP also questioned Twenty20’s claim that Kizhakambalam panchayat had a balance of ₹28 crore, both in fixed deposit and savings account, after implementing development and welfare projects. “The panchayat has lapsed not only the plan funds allocated in the State Budget but also grants from the Centre. Central grants, if not spent in time, will get carried forward, but only for projects that the Central government proposes. Twenty20 is projecting the funds it has failed to spend as a balance. All panchayats deposit funds from their own revenues, excluding the amount required for salaries and other routine expenses, in fixed deposits and savings accounts. Twenty20’s claim of the balance amount is totally wrong. It has resorted to a corporate style of making a balance sheet to project false profit,” he said.

Exuding confidence that the UDF would come back to power in Twenty20-governed panchayats, the Congress leader said that the front would conduct a comprehensive probe into contracts given by local bodies and the agencies allegedly assigned to spend plan funds.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee vice president V.P. Sajeendran and District Congress Committee president Muhammed Shiyas attended the press meet.