Telangana CM calls for 'municipal sammelanams' ahead of Pattana Pragathi

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday directed officials to conduct ‘municipal sammelanams’ in all the districts, in a bid to galvanise Mayors, Municipal Chairpersons and other officials for the implementation of the Pattana Pragathi programme.

At the day-long Collectors’ Conference at Pragati Bhavan here on Tuesday, Rao directed the Collectors to form committees in all the wards of the State’s urban local bodies (ULB) before the commencement of Pattana Pragathi. Rao said that the District Collectors could sanction works valued up to Rs 5 lakh on their own in the towns.

He asked officials and public representatives to conduct ‘padayatras’ and identify concerns in every ward of every town. The Chief Minister said, “Please do not forcibly remove taxi stands, street vendors, pavement dwellers and markets without offering them an alternative. There has to be a policy for street vendors.”

He said that the District Collectors should not set their own priorities. “The entire administration must have only one priority. It should work as a team,” the Chief Minister said.

He further said, “District Collectors have a lot of responsibilities. Earlier, the Collectors used to chair 112 committees. Now, they are grouped into 26. This will ease their burden,” Rao said. He said that the government had transferred some of its powers to the Collectors with a lot of faith and confidence. “The Collectors should take the responsibility of ensuring that everyone performs their duty well.”

In the next 15 days, the District Collectors must organise ‘Panchayat Sammelanams’ at the district-level, he said. “Subsequently, surprise checks will be conducted across the State. Flying Squads will tour every district. I will also personally conduct surprise checks. For those who keep their villages clean and tidy, rewards will be given,” Rao said.

The Chief Minister further said that Rs 1 crore would be given to the District Collectors so that they could undertake emergency works as well. “Prepare an action plan to revive the forests and implement the same,” the Chief Minister told the Collectors.

KCR’s directions

• Identify government lands in towns. Allot them for parks, parking slots and other uses
• Provide alternative jobs for pig rearers in Telangana
• Build walking tracks near all parks across the State, on the lines of KBR Park
• Give pattas to poor residing in hillocks
• Build nurseries in all the towns in the State for the Haritha Haram programme