TS Assembly passes new Panchayat Raj Bill

Hyderabad : The Telangana State Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed a new Panchayat Raj Bill which facilitates formation of new panchayats and municipalities in the State.

The Bill, presented by Panchayat Raj Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, was passed by the Assembly without any amendments. Ths new bill proposes the formation of 4,389 new Panchayats which will take the total Gram Panchayats in Telangana State to 12,741. The new Bill nullifies the old Panchayat Raj Act 1994. This Bill provides for conversion of Tandas into full fledged Gram Panchayats which would be reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

Speaking on the Bill, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao said that it took nearly two years for the government to draft the Bill. He said that the conditions in villages and rural areas did not change even 70 years after independence. With the passing of new bill, he said the nagar panchayats would be scrapped and the State will now have only Gram Panchayats, Municipalities and Municipal Corporations. He said that the State Government has allocated Rs. 2,000 crore for the development of Panchayats and Municipalities.

The Assembly has also passed Telangana Municipal Rural Amendment Bill 2018 which provides for formation of 71 new municipalities. It also provides of 136 habitations in the existing 41 municipalities in the State.