Govt sets stage for panchayat polls in Feb

Hyderabad: Telangana will witness hectic political activity from next month as the state government is seriously planning to hold panchayat election in February. The government is serious about the conduct of elections before the beginning of the budget session of the Assembly on March 12.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao instructed the District Collectors in the day-long meeting to start fixing geographical boundaries based on the reports sent by the district Panchayat Raj (PR) officers for the formation of gram panchayats on war-footing. 

The government already finalised new Panchayat Raj draft Bill under which 4,000 new panchayats will be created in addition to the existing 8,684 in the State. Chandrashekar Rao asked the officials to fix the boundaries by January 25 and send details to the government. The minimum population shall be 500 and the distance between the existing panchayats and the newly-formed one to be 1.5 to 2 kilometers. Collectors were requested to send their suggestions to the Secretary, Panchayat Raj, on betterment of PR system. 

Similarly, the concerned officials should send their suggestions. Based on their suggestions, the government will finalise the new PR Bill and introduce in the Assembly in February first week. The Chief Minister also asked the official to conduct training programmes for sarpanches to be elected in the coming polls before they assumed their duties. He asserted that the village development could not take place if village functioning of panchayats was not proper.

The government will provide Rs 5 lakh for small panchayats (having 500 population) and Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh based on population under the new Act. The funds will be mobilised through tax collections, Central Finance Commission and NREGA funds. MLA and MP funds will also be utilised for the village development.

Chandrashekar Rao asserted the creation of a working Panchyat Raj network where the local body representatives will have more powers for development which include achieving 100 per cent garbage free villages. The government was also planning to get amendments to the existing provisions of the Municipality Act, the Chief Minister added. Referring to strengthening of agriculture, he said Farmers Coordination Committees would help address the plights of the farming community. 

The Coordination Committee members will discuss with licensed buyers or commission agents and decide on the minimum support price before the produce is moved to the market. “The government will take note of the problems of the 71,75,096 farmers’ accounts,” the Chief Minister assured.