Hyderabad, June 15 : The schedule for local body elections in Telangana will be announced by the end of this month, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said on Sunday.

The state Cabinet meeting, scheduled to be held on Monday, will discuss the issue and take a final decision.

The minister told media persons in Khammam that in the first phase, elections to the Mandal Parishad Territorial Committees (MPTCs) and the Zilla Parishad Territorial Committees (ZPTCs) will be conducted. Subsequently, the polls will be held for the posts of sarpanches, and municipal elections will be conducted.

Stating that only 15 days have left for the announcement of the poll schedule, Srinivasa Reddy urged the cadres of the ruling Congress to gear up for the poll battle. He said the party would field candidates with high winning chances.

The minister said it was the responsibility of the local leaders to explain to people various welfare schemes launched by the government during the last 16-17 months.

Srinivasa Reddy also announced that financial assistance under 'Rythu Bharosa' and a bonus for fine varieties of rice would be credited to the bank accounts of farmers within a week.

The elections to local bodies were delayed as the Congress government was waiting for the outcome of the caste survey. Backward Caste (BC) organisations have also been demanding that the elections should be held only after enhancing the BC reservation to 42 per cent as promised by the Congress during the elections.

The state Assembly has already passed a bill to enhance BC reservation in local bodies to 42 per cent and sent the same to the Centre for its approval.

The term of gram panchayats ended on January 31 last year, while the term of Zilla Parishads ended in July.

BJP leader Boora Narsaiah Goud on Saturday slammed the Congress government for failing to conduct local body elections even after 18 months of being in power. He stated the prolonged delay halted development work as gram panchayats rely on funding from the Central Finance Commission.

The BJP leader said the tenures of 12,769 sarpanches ended in January last year, 5,717 MPTC members in May, and 538 ZPTCs, MPPs, and ZPTC chairpersons about a year ago. He also pointed out that 128 out of 130 municipalities completed their terms six months ago.

/IANS