Telangana CM Mandates Punctual Salary Disbursement for Panchayat Workers

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has issued directives to ensure that approximately 50,000 gram panchayat employees across the state receive their monthly wages without fail on the opening day of each month.

During a meeting with senior officials from the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department on Tuesday, the Chief Minister emphasized that panchayat workers deserve the same punctual compensation that IAS officers receive regularly. He made clear that the government would allocate Rs 50 crore monthly specifically for disbursing panchayat staff salaries.

The Chief Minister stressed a zero-tolerance approach toward salary delays, warning that even a single day's postponement would not be permitted. He also extended similar directives to officials regarding timely wage payments for outsourced and contractual workers employed across all government departments.

In addition to salary reforms, Revanth Reddy instructed officials to reinstate provisions concerning gram panchayat financial autonomy that had been eliminated by the previous administration. He directed them to amend Section 70(3) of the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018, enabling gram panchayats to deposit their internally generated revenue into bank accounts rather than treasury accounts.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the pension distribution mechanism and ordered significant modifications. He directed authorities to discontinue the existing postal-based pension distribution system in favor of direct bank transfers to beneficiary accounts. Officials were instructed to implement stringent verification measures using voter identification cards, Aadhaar information, and SEEEPC survey data to ensure pensions reach only eligible recipients.

Revanth Reddy further prioritized the processing of pension applications for newly qualified beneficiaries. The review meeting was attended by Minister Seethakka, MP Vem Narender Reddy, and senior officials from the Panchayat Raj Department.