VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister and Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Minister Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday said that the sense of happiness employees experience during promotions must translate into improved service delivery at the grassroots level.
Addressing ‘Mata Manthi’, an interactive meeting with staff from the Panchayat Raj, Rural Development, Engineering and Rural Water Supply departments, he urged employees to uphold impartiality, dedication and integrity in public service.
Pawan Kalyan said he was familiar with the day-to-day struggles of government staff, having grown up in a household headed by a government employee. Promotions, he noted, create a festive atmosphere in families and enhance motivation to perform. It was for this reason, he said, that the government had ensured a transparent and merit-driven promotions process in his departments.
He pointed out that more than 10,000 employees in the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development wings had received promotions in the past 18 months, an unprecedented scale even when compared to the era of united Andhra Pradesh. Promotions, he said, were given purely on the basis of seniority and sincerity, contrasting it with earlier years when postings and promotions were allegedly influenced by rate cards. While assuring that he would remain accountable in his role, he cautioned staff against lapses and urged them to maintain discipline in official duties.
Highlighting reforms undertaken to strengthen rural governance, he said several structural changes had been implemented recently. The long-standing cluster system had been scrapped, paving the way for 13,350 gram panchayats to function as independent administrative units.
Each panchayat now has its own secretary, redesignated as Village Development Officer (VDO), with enhanced responsibilities for local development. Large panchayats with populations above 10,000 have been categorised as Rurban Panchayats, with gazetted officers appointed to ensure development standards comparable to those in municipalities.
To further decentralise administration, 77 new DDO offices have been established across the state, aligned with the spirit of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. These offices house divisional-level officials to ensure timely and efficient delivery of services to citizens.
The Minister also directed immediate clearance of pending wages of outsourcing staff in the engineering wing and warned of stern action in cases of harassment of women employees.
Recalling that many officers in the past retired without receiving even a single promotion, he said the current administration had created clear pathways for career progression, from MPDOs to District Panchayat CEOs and regular promotions up to the ENC level in engineering services. Such reforms, he said, were designed to instil confidence and fairness in governance. He urged employees to carry this spirit of transparency and service orientation into villages.
Reiterating his belief that village development is the foundation of national progress, Pawan Kalyan said the government was committed to bringing urban-grade amenities to rural areas. Under the leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and with support from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Andhra Pradesh was implementing wide-ranging reforms to strengthen rural infrastructure and administration.