The Hindu Business Line : AP to revamp revenue administration at grassroots

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet today approved the setting up of four agricultural polytechnics and 120 integrated hostels, the latter with an outlay of Rs 180 crore and decided to revamp the revenue administration at the grassroots level.

Briefing presspersons here about the Cabinet decisions, the State Revenue Minister, Mr Dharmana Prasada Rao, said the revamp was aimed at strengthening revenue administration by creating a separate administrative machinery at the village level.

The land and revenue functions were being discharged by the village administrative officers till the year 2001. The post of village administrative officer was abolished and a new regular post called Panchayat Secretary was created in 2001. The Panchayat Secretary was entrusted with both revenue and panchayat functions at the village level. Both the functions were combined and a single functionary was designated to carry out all the tasks.

Following a review of the set up, the Government felt that this system needed to be reviewed and an effective revenue administrative apparatus at the grassroots level was vital if the pro-poor policies of the Government were to be implemented.

A Group of Ministers, which studied the implications and ground realities recommended that the existing erstwhile village administrative officers working as panchayat secretaries and part-time assistants be transferred back to the control of revenue department in order to operationalise the recommendations.

The Cabinet decided to approve the course of action recommended by the Cabinet Sub-Committee for strengthening of revenue administration at the village level.

With the State embarking on an integrated land record information system for better administration, the Government is of the opinion that the new arrangement would be ideally suited to tackle this. Consequently, existing revenue villages and gram panchayats would be arranged into revenue clusters and panchayat clusters, respectively.

Organised crime

In another important decision aimed at curbing organised crime in the State, the Cabinet decided to renew the Andhra Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act, 2001, which had lapsed in November 2004.

Alongside, it also approved Government guarantee for loans for the second phase of Krishna water project and Girijan Co-operative Society.

Referring to the current day power crisis, Mr Rao said the State was in the process of stepping up hydel power generation as also power purchase from Central generating stations and other States. This coupled with new capacities likely to come up, and load shedding in urban areas and towns, would help tide over the crisis.

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