Hyderabad: The Telangana State government is preparing to make changes in the revenue administration after it brought amendments to the Panchayat Raj Act and Municipalities Act.
As per the amendments, more responsibilities and accountability to both officials and elected representatives have been amended.
The government has also transferred 49 cadre and non-cadre officers just two days before the collectors’ conference and instead created two new additional collector posts in each district.
This new post would be in charge of local bodies, likely to supervise panchayats and municipalities on day to day basis.
“Additional collector will be made in charge of overseeing Palle Pragati and Pattana Pragati programmes,” a senior official said.
According to sources, this creation of new additional collector posts was a part of revenue reforms.
Prior to these arrangements, CM KCR has expressed his unhappiness over present revenue administration, especially land administration issues, and finally decided to revamp the revenue system.
It is also planning to merge either the revenue department with Panchayath raj or transfer some powers to other departments.
The CM might unveil his ideas on revenue reforms and job chart of collectors and additional collectors during collectors’ conference on February 11. As of now, joint collectors take care of revenue, civil supplies and education etc, but joint collector post was being scrapped in district administration set-up.
“Since the government is focussing on transparency in land transactions, where registration and mutation of land should be done immediately, and also ensure corruption-free and hassle-free registration at revenue offices, special provisions are being made in the new revenue legislation. It is likely that the registration and stamps department will become part of revenue administration,” a senior bureaucrat said.
This new exercise will soon be placed in the Assembly in the upcoming budget session he added.
Currently, the Revenue Department is headed by chief secretary Somesh Kumar. Now the government is planning to appoint a secretary to take care of commercial taxes, revenue and registration and stamps departments, the sources said.