Hyderabad: Panchayat Raj Minister D Seethakka met with R. Subrahmanyam, Member Secretary of the Centre for Research in Schemes & Policies (CRISP) and former Government of India Secretary, at the Telangana secretariat to discuss panchayat reforms.
During the meeting, Subrahmanyam presented CRISP’s initiatives through a PowerPoint presentation, highlighting reforms and progress achieved in various states. He noted that under the leadership of former Kerala Chief Secretary Vijayanand, CRISP operates with a team of ten senior retired IAS officers and focuses on strengthening village panchayats.
Inspired by Kerala’s model, Minister Seethakka expressed Telangana’s readiness to implement similar reforms aimed at empowering village panchayats and enhancing rural development. The government plans to integrate women’s self-help groups into panchayat activities, believing that coordination between these groups and village panchayats can lead to significant improvements in rural areas.
Minister Seethakka requested Subrahmanyam develop an action plan tailored for Telangana. The plan will be discussed in the state cabinet for approval. Its focus will be on conducting gram sabhas, creating self-sufficient village panchayats, and introducing reforms in local governance. The aim is to finalise this action plan before the formation of new governing bodies following local elections. As part of this initiative, Telangana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CRISP. The MoU was exchanged between Subrahmanyam and Srujana, Director of the Centre for Rural Development, in the presence of Minister Seethakka. CRISP is currently collaborating with 14 state governments across India, offering its services free of charge. (INN)