VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has directed officials to revamp the village panchayat cluster system and formulate new guidelines to streamline administration.
At a review meeting with Panchayat Raj and Rural Development officials held at his camp office on Monday, the Deputy CM proposed grading village panchayats based on population instead of revenue. Staff allocation should also align with the population to ensure efficient service delivery. He instructed officials to form a committee to recommend changes to the existing system.
The meeting addressed disparities in the old cluster system, where revenue-rich panchayats with smaller populations received more staff, while less affluent but densely populated villages were understaffed. The new cluster system aims to rectify this by allocating staff based on population. Coordination between Gram Panchayat and Village Secretariat staff was also emphasised to ensure seamless administration.
The Deputy CM highlighted that such adjustments would enable adequate staffing for panchayats to handle infrastructure development, government scheme implementation, drinking water supply, streetlight maintenance, sanitation, and other essential services.
He directed officials to study the issues discussed and provide recommendations to simplify panchayat administration. A committee comprising four senior officials from the Panchayat Raj department will be constituted for this purpose.
The committee will analyse the revenues and population data of panchayats across all 26 districts, using reports from District Collectors. Based on these findings, it will submit a report to the government for drafting new guidelines on panchayat grading and staff allocation.
Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Principal Secretary Sashibhusan Kumar, Director Krishna Teja, and other officials were present at the meeting.