CM for enabling panchayats to credit their own source revenue in bank accounts

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy-led State government has embarked upon yet another reform aimed at strengthening the Panchayat Raj institutions.

The government has decided to amend Section 70 (3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act 2018 allowing gram panchayats to deposit their own source revenue into a separate bank account instead of depositing it into the treasury. The Chief Minister announced the decision aimed to revive the old system which was allegedly diluted by the previous government adversely affecting the independence of the gram panchayats.

Simultaneously, he directed the officials concerned to ensure that salaries to over 50,000 staff of village panchayats were credited promptly on the first day of the month. “The gram panchayat staff should also receive salaries on the first of every month like the IAS officers,” he said.

The State government would release ₹50 crore every month to the Panchayat Raj department enabling it to pay salaries to the staff in time. He instructed the officials to ensure timely payment of salaries to all staff, including those engaged on contract and outsourcing basis. “Delay of even a single day will not be tolerated,” he averred.

Mr. Revanth Reddy suggested changes in the mode of payment of pensions to beneficiaries asking officials to credit the amount into the beneficiaries accounts instead of disbursing it through postal department. Payment of pensions should be streamlined through voter ID, SEEEPC data to ensure that only eligible recieved the benefit. With the government deciding to sanction two lakh new pensions, steps should be taken to give priority to single woman beneficiaries.