Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar today conducted a meeting with the Additional Collectors of the state's local bodies.
As per the directions of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar today conducted a meeting with the Additional Collectors of the state's local bodies and several senior officers of the panchayat raj and municipal
administration departments regarding the implementation of the Palle Pragathi and Pattana Pragathi schemes.
(While the Palle Pragathi scheme, introduced to improve the quality of life in the state's rural areas, was launched by the Telangana government in 2015, the Pattana Pragathi program, a ten-day integrated program aimed at local-level sanitation and re-greening works in municipalities and municipal corporations, was launched on February 24.)
At the meeting, the CS stated that Telangana had brought in new Acts for gram panchayats and municipalities, and urged the officials to implement the same in both letter and spirit.
"The post of Additional Collectors in the state's local bodies has been created to ensure that the New Panchayat Raj Act, which empowers gram panchayats to utilise their funds without seeking permissions from the mandal or district-level officials, are implemented. The CM wants every gram panchayat and Urban Local Body (ULB) to ensure cleanliness and boost the green cover of the areas under their jurisdiction. The government releases funds for the panchayats and the ULBs on a monthly basis so that these goals can be met. I urge all of you to take up your work with commitment," he said.
The Additional Collectors were then directed to ensure that the local bodies clean the streets and drains in their respective areas on a daily basis. They were also warned that if they failed to do so, strict action would be taken against them.
Further, the officials were told to expedite the pending works for various projects, including waste segregation and dumping sheds, vaikunta dhamas, and integrated vegetarian and non-vegetarian markets. The projects are reportedly to be completed and made functional by March.
Elaborating on the implementation of the Palle Pragathi program, the CS asked that the pending works for the various Palle Prakruthi Vanams and the multi-level avenue plantations be taken up and completed at the earliest.
"As per the new Act, 10% of the budgets of local bodies should be used for afforestation and re-greening activities. You must ensure that those trees that did not take to the soil are replaced, and that special efforts are made to aid the survival of the saplings that will be planted this summer," Kumar said.
He then directed the officials to look into the granting of building clearances, and into the issue of encroachment.
"In order to ensure that building permits are given in a transparent and hassle-free manner, we have introduced the TS- BPASS system. Please ensure that clearances are given to applicants in a timely manner. Also, take steps to prevent incidents of illegal encroachment," the CS instructed.
Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration & Urban Development) Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary (General Administration) Vikas Raj, Secretary (Panchayat Raj & Rural Development) Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Secretary (Agriculture & Co-operation) Janardhan Reddy, Special Secretary (Finance) Ronald Rose, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Commissioner Raghunandan Rao, PCCF R Shobha, Secretary (Health) S A M Rizvi, TSSPDCL CDMA N Satyanarayana and CMD Raghuma Reddy and PCCF (Social Forestry) R M Dobriyal were among the officials present at the meeting.