Andhra Pradesh government has announced financial incentives for those who get elected unanimously for the post of sarpanch and member of gram panchayats during the local body elections.

According to a G.O Ms No 34 issued by the Chief Secretary Aditya Nath Das, the government has announced a financial incentive of ₹5 lakh for villages having population less than 2,000, ₹10 lakh for gram panchayats having population between 2,001 and 5,000, ₹15 lakh for villages having population between 5,001 and 10,000 and ₹20 lakh for panchayats having population more than 10,000.

Earlier, the government had announced cash incentive of ₹7 lakh for gram panchayats having population up to 15,000 and ₹20 lakh for gram panchayats having more population more than 15,000.

The decision of the government is in tune with similar practices followed by Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana and Punjab, which continue to have elections on non-party basis. In Gujarat, unanimous elections are conferred with award of money to the gram panchayat from the State Government, under the Samras Scheme.

The decision follows the recommendations made by the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development departments to give cash incentives to those sarpanches and members who have been elected unanimously.

Earlier, the Chief Secretary said that the State Government was willing to organise local body elections in tune with the philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi and Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan on local governance as enshrined in Article 40 of the Constitution of India. If elections to gram panchayats were held on party basis, there was a possibility that political rivalry, enmity, and intense animosity might grow among competing parties, hampering peace and harmony.