Gram panchayats get financial powers back as Telangana chief minister reverses policy

Hyderabad: In a move aimed at restoring financial autonomy to village bodies, chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday directed officials to allow gram panchayats to directly access and use their own revenue for development works, reversing a system introduced by the previous BRS govt.During a review meeting with officials of the panchayat raj department, the chief minister instructed that a gram panchayat’s own-source revenue be deposited into bank accounts instead of treasury accounts, enabling sarpanches to directly utilise the funds for local development activities.Revanth said approval had been given to restore the earlier mechanism that was scrapped by the previous govt, which he said had weakened the financial independence of gram panchayats.Officials said amendments are being made to section 70(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, to facilitate the change. Under the revised provisions, gram panchayat own-source revenues will be deposited into designated bank accounts instead of treasury accounts.The chief minister also issued key directions on the Cheyutha pension distribution system.He instructed officials to discontinue pension distribution through the postal department in rural areas and instead transfer the pension amount directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.“Measures must be taken to ensure that pensions reach only those who are eligible. The pension system must be streamlined based on data from voter IDs, Aadhaar, and caste survey records. Among newly sanctioned pensions, top priority must be accorded to single women,” Revanth told officials.The chief minister also directed authorities to ensure that salaries of nearly 50,000 gram panchayat employees across the state are paid on the first day of every month.The govt will allocate ₹50 crore every month to facilitate salary payments for these employees, including outsourced and contract staff. “Even a delay of a single day in the payment of salaries will not be tolerated,” the CM said.