TS Govt plans to bring the new Panchayat Raj Act

Hyderabad, Nov 13: The Telangana Chief Minister
K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said that there was an urgent need to bring a new Panchayat Raj Act, to suit the present needs.

Mr. Rao said the needs of villages had changed drastically since the law was enacted nearly three decades ago.

Mr. Rao held a meeting with senior officials at Pragathi Bhavan to discuss the measures that need to be taken to strengthen panchayats in the state. He asked officials to assess the circumstances and draft the new Bill accordingly. He instructed them to define the roles and responsibilities of panchayats in the new Act.



He pointed out that earlier the responsibility of providing drinking water in villages was entrusted to panchayats but now the state government is taking this responsibility with Mission Bhagiratha and several such responsibilities have changed over the years.

"While some old responsibilities have gone, some new responsibilities were handed over to panchayats over the years. The new responsibilities of improving greenery, sanitation, registration of birth, death, and marriages, setting up of cremation grounds, dump yards, village development plans have been entrusted to them. The sources of income for panchayats have also changed. All these issues should reflect in the new Act." the CM said.

The government is planning to bring the new Act in the ongoing session.