In a significant announcement, Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao has said that the retirement age of State government employees will be increased to 60 or 61 years in line with the election promise.
He also directed officials to prepare promotion charts of employees in all departments. An employee should know on what date he or she would get promotion and the unhealthy practice of lobbying for promotions should go.
The CM made it clear that the government was ready to give promotions to all and the employees should cooperate by withdrawing cases filed by them on promotion issue. If required, the government would create super-numerary posts, he asserted.
Speaking at the preparatory meeting for the State-level implementation of 30-day special action plan with the Panchayat Raj department officers at the Telangana State Institute of Rural Development here on Tuesday, Mr. Rao said the government would not tolerate officers abusing employees at Mandal and Zilla Parishad meetings. Stern action would be taken against such officers.
He also directed the Chief Secretary to give immediate orders for merger of Vikarabad district in Charminar zone.
Speaking on the government’s vision to restore past glory of Panchayat Raj system, he said the State government had brought major administrative reforms by creating new districts, divisions, mandals and many tandas, remote hamlets were converted into panchayats. Of 12,751 panchayats, 3,146 had ST sarpanches and the rural administrative units were now ready for administration and implementation of government programmes.
Government brought new Panchayat Raj Act as continuation of administrative reforms and to give clarity to the officers on duties and utilisation of funds and to increase accountability among people’s representatives and officers.
The State government was implementing many works at the village level. It was providing drinking water through Mission Bhagiratha, extending Rythu Bandhu and Rythi Bima schemes, restored tanks through Mission Kakatiya and providing financial stimulus for strengthening the rural economy and taking up infrastructure projects without burdening village panchayats.
In addition to this, government was providing fine rice to school students, nutritious food through anganwadi centres, Asara pensions, KCR Kits, Kalyana Lakshmi etc schemes When government was doing so much, Panchayats have specific responsibilities like encouraging people’s participation in village level programmes, ensuring cleanliness, greenery in the villages, formulating five year plans and preparing budgets accordingly, prompt payment of electricity and other bills, maintenance of street lights etc
If people worked in a mission mode, good outcomes could be achieved without fail and there were any number of examples for this, he said citing examples of Gangadevipalli model village in Warangal district, Ankapur village in Nizamabad..