India, Oct. 18 -- The Odisha government's announcement of Rs 56.55 crore towards the payment of honorarium to sarpanches and naib sarpanches has triggered a controversy, with the Odisha Sarpanch Association alleging that the government is labelling the payment of pending dues as a special gift to elected grassroots representatives

The association has questioned why the government is terming the payment a gift when it covers only six months of honorarium against eight months of pending dues.

The association alleged that sarpanches and naib sarpanches had not received their honorarium since March. It argued that clearing pending payments cannot be described as a special gift from the government.

The association has also raised concerns ...