In a major push for rural transformation, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Friday announced that a 30-day Village Development Special Action Plan would be implemented in all villages of Telangana from September 6.
The Chief Minister, who held a high-level seven-hour marathon meeting at Pragathi Bhavan here, said all officials concerned should work to bring about a change in the topography of villages for the better, with focus on greenery and cleanliness, plan-based development and utilisation of funds with prudence. “This entire exercise should be carried out with the active participation of the people in the spirit of democracy,” he said.
Stating that the Special Action Plan should pave the way to achieve the expected goal of changing all villages in the State, Chandrashekhar Rao said though the earlier decision on the duration was 60 days, it was decided to curtail it to 30 on the basis of feedback from officials in the first phase, which would be followed by a second phase later.
The Chief Minister said the initiative to develop villages in a comprehensive manner would be a regular and continuous process. Panchayat Raj officials would be given a low down and the guidelines for the implementation of the action plan by the Chief Minister at a meeting on September 3 at the Telangana State Institute of Rural Development here.
The Chief Minister directed the District Collectors to depute one Mandal-level officer in every village as in-charge to monitor the implementation of the Special Action Plan throughout the 30 days. He also decided to finalise the duties and responsibilities of Mandal and Zilla Parishads to make them more pro-active following suggestions from the District Collectors.
Meanwhile, Chandrashekhar Rao also decided to hike the salaries of 36,000 sanitation workers in villages, who are currently drawing low salaries, to Rs 8,500 per month. The Chief Minister instructed the officials to release Rs 339 crore per month grant from the funds released under the Central Finance Commission and the State funds to village panchayats.