The Andhra Pradesh government’s mission to clean up and restructure the Secretariat system has reached the final stage. After completing staff rationalisation and employee reclassification, the coalition government is now turning its attention to the most crucial part of the exercise, defining job responsibilities and streamlining the promotion process for employees.
As part of this effort, Deputy Chief Minister and Panchayati Raj Minister Pawan Kalyan conducted an in-depth review of village secretariats on Tuesday. He directed officials to undertake a detailed study of how village secretariats currently function and how they should be reorganised to make governance more efficient at the grassroots level.
A Need for Structural Clarity
Pawan Kalyan emphasised the importance of examining how different departmental units operate at the village level. He said there must be a clear plan on how the village secretariat staff should be integrated with various line departments. During the afternoon meeting, Pawan held an extensive discussion with a group of ministers and senior officials from multiple departments. Ministers Ponguru Narayana, Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, Vangalapudi Anitha, Anagani Satya Prasad, Dola Balaveeranjaneyaswamy, Gottipati Ravi Kumar and Gummidi Sandhya Rani participated in the review.
Focus on Promotions and Role Alignment
A key topic was employee promotions. Pawan Kalyan stressed that promotions must be given without disrupting the structural integrity of the secretariat system. He asked officials to explore opportunities for integrating staff into other departments when necessary, while protecting the operational continuity of village secretariats. He instructed officials to complete a comprehensive study of the entire system by March next year. The final report is expected to outline clear guidelines for restructuring, staff deployment and coordination across all departments.
Monthly Monitoring to Speed Up the Process
To ensure that the reform does not stagnate, Pawan suggested holding review meetings every month. These meetings will assess gaps, address bottlenecks and ensure that the promotion process moves at a faster pace. With this push, the village secretariat system, which was once promoted as a revolutionary governance model but later riddled with inefficiencies, is now set for a major overhaul. If executed as planned, the reforms could redefine grassroots administration in Andhra Pradesh.
