The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Makeover for panchayats

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Sunday, Jul 05, 2009
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Makeover for panchayats

Girish Menon

To improve service delivery

Grama panchayats to have front offices
To institute internal control

Thiruvananthapuram: The grama panchayats in the State will soon sport a new look with front offices that will offer a whole lot of services as part of the Change Management Initiatives being undertaken in these institutions under the 11th Plan objectives of good governance and service delivery.

The State government has issued orders to these panchayats to set up front offices, besides issuing detailed guidelines on the functioning of these offices, the amenities to be made available to the public and the services that will be provided for thousands of people arriving at these institutions for various requirements.

The new order virtually neutralises the Manual of Office Procedures for Panchayats as it had several shortcomings in relation to providing services.

Nodal agency

The Panchayat Directorate will be the nodal agency for setting up the front office system within a timeframe with a calendar of tasks to be completed.

According to sources in the Local Administration Department, the Assembly Committee on Local Funds Audit has recommended measures to streamline the functioning of the grama panchayats by instituting internal control.

At present, the panchayat offices have free access to the public. Such free access usually comes in the way of office functioning.

Several panchayats have experimented with numerous service delivery models. But the concept of a front office system has come through discussions at various levels leading to an experiment in Wayanad.

The new Government Order envisages setting up the system based on the Wayanad model. Receipts, mail, cash counters, inter-office movement of files, distribution of forms and dissemination of information will be done through the front offices that will have all basic amenities, such as chairs, toilets and arrangements for physically challenged people.

List of duties

The new order enlists the duties and responsibilities of employees manning the front offices, which will provide all important communications to the public in order to make the local body’s administration transparent, efficient and corruption-free.

The front offices will have notice boards providing details of various services offered, telephone numbers and other details of appellate bodies related to panchayat administration and office attendance boards, not to mention service status boards that will have updated information on status of building permits, pensions and National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme applications.

Funds

The panchayats have been permitted to utilise their own funds or make the necessary allocation from the general purpose or development funds to meet the cost of setting up the system.

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