GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

ABSTRACT

Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department – Gram Panchayats - Village

Secretariat System in Gram Panchayats in the State - Orders –Issued.
PANCHAYAT RAJ &RURAL DEVELOPMENT (MDL-I) DEPARTMENT

G.O.Ms.No.110 Dated: 19-07-2019

Read the following:

1. G.O.Ms.No.1, Agriculture & Cooperation (FP-II) Department, dated.

01.01.2008.
2. G.O.Ms.No.105, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development &
Fisheries(AH-I) Department, dated.31.12.2007
3. G.O.Ms.No.106, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development &
Fisheries(AH-I) Department, dated.31.12.2007
4. G.O.Ms.No.571, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development (RD-III)
Department, dated.26.12.2007.
5. G.O.Ms.No.569,Panchayat Raj & Rural Development (RWS-I)
Department date:22.12.2007, Drinking Water (RWS)
6. G.O.Ms.No.2, School Education (Prog-I) Department,
dated.03.01.2008,
7. G.O.Ms.No.324, Health Medical and Family Welfare(F1) Department,
dated.27.09.2007.
8. G.O.Ms.No.138, Social Welfare (SW.Ser.I) Department,
dated.24.12.2007,
9. G.O.Ms.No.35, Backward Classes Welfare(B2) Department,
Dated.12.04.2007.
10. G.O.Ms.No.41,Women Development, Child Welfare & Disabled
Welfare(JJ) Department, dated.19.11.2008.
11. G.O.Ms.No.104,Panchayat Raj &Rural Development (MDL-I)
Department, dated. 22.06.2019.
12. From the Commissioner, PR&RD, Tadepalli, Guntur Dist. E-File
No.PRR02-14021(46)/44/2019-RWS SEC-PRRD (Computer No.934418),
dt.12-07-2019 & dt.16-07-2019.
-o0o-
ORDER:

Article 243G vests powers in the State Legislatures to endow Panchayats with
such powers and authority to function as institutions of self-government. As per the
73rd Amendment, AP Government enacted AP Panchayat Raj Act 1994.The Act
provides for (i) the creation of three tier system of PRIs - gram panchayat at the
village level, Mandal Parishad at the intermediate level and Zilla Panchayat at the
district level, with required powers and functions contained in Schedule XI of the

1
Constitution. Panchayats are responsible for preparation of plans and their execution
for economic development and social justice related to 29 subjects (Annexure 1).

2. The Hon’ble Chief Minister on number of occasions has declared that the
Government is committed to revamp delivery systems in the State with an aim to
improve living standards of the people through the concept of NAVARATHNALU as
core theme of governance. To achieve this objective, Government would establish a
system of Village Secretariats consisting of required functional assistants to
strengthen Gram panchayats and provide services for every 2000 population in the
state.

3. In this connection, the Commissioner, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development,

Tadepalli was requested to work out and send necessary proposals for establishment
of village level secretariats in the state.

4. Accordingly, Commissioner, Panchayat Raj submitted a detailed proposal vide

reference 12th cited, describing the modalities of Village Secretariats – norms for
establishing village secretariats, composition, an estimate of functional
assistants/budget required etc., besides stating that multiple intensive inter
departmental workshops, meetings etc. on this subject have been conducted at
several levels, including the Principal Secretary, the Chief Secretary and the Principal
Advisor to Chief Minister to discuss about the modalities for establishing village
secretariats.

5. In Andhra Pradesh, vide references 1 to 10 read above, 10 subjects have

been transferred to Panchayats. Due to lack of infrastructure and manpower at
Gram Panchayat level, the intended objectives to establish a more meaningful local
government could not be achieved.

6. Need for Village Secretariat System

i. Restructuring the delivery systems to function as an effective mechanism

to deliver services.
ii. A strong & workable channel for implementation of NAVARATHNALU
iii. Transparency and accountability in delivery of government services to the
citizens
iv. Ensure convergence among departments providing services at village
level.

7. The proposal received from the Commissioner, PR&RD was referred to 13 line
Departments and Finance and Law Departments for concurrence, consultations and
comments. The comments received from line Departments were considered and
required modifications were suitably incorporated in the proposal.

8. After careful consideration of the proposal, Government orders to establish

Village Secretariats in the State of Andhra Pradesh with the modalities described
hereunder.

2
9. Objectives, inter alia, include

i. To provide various Government / other services at the door steps of

Citizens through single window system and ensure delivery of
Navaratnalu.
ii. Enable convergence of all line departments that provide services at the
Village level
iii. Preparation and timely implementation of village plans.
iv. Mapping the field level functionaries with clearly specified roles making
them accountable to Gram Panchayats/Gram Sabha with a well-defined
Citizen Charter.
v. Integrate the institution of village volunteers with village secretariat
system enabling them to provide citizen services efficiently.

10. Structure & Composition of Village Secretariats

i. The office of Gram Panchayat will be termed as “Village Secretariat”.

ii. Each Village Secretariat will be provided with a Panchayat Secretary who
functions as the Secretary/convenor of the Village Secretariat.
iii. The Village secretariat consisting of Panchayat Secretary & functional
assistants shall be responsible to aid & assist Gram Panchayat(s) in
performing its functions, while preserving the autonomy of Gram
Panchayats.
iv. Subject to administrative convenience, Functional Assistants working
under a Village Secretariat, may cater to the needs of two or more
contiguous Village Secretariats.
v. The Village secretariats shall have such number of functional assistants
working under the supervision of the Gram Panchayat, inter alia not
limited to the list enumerated in Annexure 2.
vi. Above functions are indicative only and as when required other functions
may be added to it.
vii. All the functionaries at the Village Secretariat shall act as an integrated
workforce to deliver multiple services.
viii. The functionaries will be assigned any other Government work as and
when required, even if it does not pertain to their own department.

11. Area of operation of functional assistants

i. Population unit of about 2000 persons is taken as the base, for provision
of services by one team of functional assistants.

ii. Rural areas (other than Agency areas)

a. If a Gram panchayat (GP) population is more than 2,000 and less than
4000, the entire GP is considered as one unit and one team of
functional assistants will be provided.
b. In the case of smaller GPs having less than 2000 population, one team
of functional assistants will provide services for one or more Gram

3
 panchayats, to cater to the needs of population of about 2000, for
administrative convenience.
c. In larger Gram Panchayats, additional teams of functional assistants
will be provided in proportion to the population.
d. Wherever additional teams of functional assistants are proposed in
larger Gram Panchayats, the area of operation of additional teams as
far as possible will be co-terminus with revenue villages, to enable
effective provision of services by Revenue and Survey departments.

iii. Hilly & tribal areas

a. In hilly and tribal areas while deploying a team of functional assistants to

one or more smaller Village Secretariats, distance and hilly tracts shall be
considered and wherever required, population norm of 2000 shall be
relaxed, to enable effective delivery of services to tribal population.

iv. The estimate of district wise Village Secretariat deployed with functional
assistants arrived based on above norms is placed at Annexure 3.

12. Preparation of Gram Panchayat Development plans and provision of

services by Village Secretariat

i. The functional assistants of Village Secretariat shall participate in Gram

Panchayat meetings and Gram Sabhas to enable convergence of their
functioning at Gram Panchayat level.
ii. Village secretariats shall assist in preparation of Gram Panchayat
Development plans for 5 years on the subjects delegated to them from
time to time, as per the prescribed procedure.
iii. The functionaries of the village secretariat shall prepare integrated annual
plans using the PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) techniques, duly
capturing the felt needs & aspirations of the people, as per the prescribed
procedure.
iv. Village secretariat shall endeavour to provide services pertaining to the
subjects delegated to them from time to time, as per well-defined citizen
charter, being accountable to Gram Panchayats.

13. Business, office procedure and record maintenance in Village

Secretariats

i. The Village Secretariat shall function according to prescribed business

rules and office procedures. These business rules, office procedures and
record maintenance systems will be notified separately. The Functional
Assistants of line departments will function as per the job chart provided
and report to Gram Panchayat.
ii. The Panchayat Secretary of the village secretariat acts as DDO (Drawing
and disbursing officer) and the pay and allowances of all the staff of
Village Secretariat will be disbursed by her/him. The honorarium of Village
Volunteers also will be paid by the Panchayat Secretary.

4
 iii. The Casual leave of all the village functionaries will be sanctioned by the
Sarpanch of the Gram Panchayat.
iv. The regular Supervisory Officers of the concerned line Departments shall
supervise the Functional Assistants in technical aspects.
v. Earned leave, maintenance of service records and all other service matters
of village secretariat staff like promotions and other service matters
including disciplinary matters, will be dealt with by the respective line
departments under their service rules.

14. Number of functionaries required and process of recruitment

i. Existing staff of the concerned line department has to be appropriately

accommodated to the extent possible.
ii. The line departments should critically analyse the number of functionaries
to be recruited after considering, inter alia, the parameters, such as,
potential and requirement of the area, efficient delivery of services, work
performed by the existing functionaries, financial prudence, optimum
utilization of government work force etc.
iii. After following the process mentioned in i) & ii) above, the line
departments have arrived at no. of functionaries to be recruited which is
given in Annexure 2.
iv. Each line department shall follow their own norms for recruitment and
basic minimum qualifications prescribed for a specific post, under their
service rules.
v. For Secretariats having larger population, more number of functional
assistants may be deployed by the same Department, if considered
necessary, for ensuring efficient and prompt delivery of services.
vi. The recruitment of secretariat functionaries shall be done in accordance
with respective service rules under the supervision of the Committee of
Secretaries constituted for this purpose.
vii. The functionaries recruited initially will be on probation for a period of two
years at a consolidated stipend of Rs. 15,000/- per month. There after the
concerned Departments will take necessary action as per service rules in
force for confirming the probation.
viii. Where already recruitment process has begun by the APPSC the said
process could be utilized, by the concerned department, if considered
appropriate.
ix. A one-time relaxation regarding pre-requirement of framing/amendment
service rules before issue of recruitment notifications is given due to
urgency, however, the concerned departments should ensure that the
necessary amendments to the service rules or framing of new service rules
are done immediately.
x. Committee of Secretaries specifically constituted for this purpose is
authorised to finalise various details regarding the recruitment process and
procedures, following rules in force.
xi. PR & RD department, in consultation with concerned departments, is
authorised to effect minor modifications regarding number of village
secretariats and number of functionaries, if required while implementation.

Career Adda
15. Trainings

i. Induction training for one week at district or zonal level will be given to
impart basic knowledge about the functions to be discharged by
Functional Assistants of Village Secretariat. General training will be
imparted at PR Training Centres Bapatla /Samarlakota / Kalahasthi and
other identified appropriate centres to equip the functionaries with
following general skills: -

• Official correspondence
• Issues dealt by Village Secretariat / Volunteers and redress the
grievances as per the department protocol.
• Computer skills
• Social and Behavioural change & Communication skills;
• Work closely with various functionaries to bring in synergy and ensure
effective administration at the Secretariat level.

ii. The line departments will formulate detailed departmental training plans
and implement in a phased manner without affecting the field work of the
functionaries.

16. Job Chart and Monitoring System:

i. A clear and comprehensive job chart with suitable business rules shall be
put in place.
ii. The performance of the Functional Assistants shall be reviewed
periodically by the Mandal/district level officers concerned and periodically
submit the performance appraisal reports.
iii. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are to be developed for each
functionary by the respective line departments. An online monitoring
system will be developed by RTGS for effective tracking of the
performance of functionaries.
iv. Establish systems to achieve transparency & efficiency in functioning
besides proper checks & balances and supervision for providing corruption
free delivery of services.
v. Line departments shall converge their functioning with Village Secretariats
keeping proper linkages with other departments, to act as a single unit of
administration.
vi. Horizontal and Vertical control structure should be properly formulated
and made functional. Organic links must be established among various
Departments and institutions.

6
17. Tentative Time lines:

i. Issue of guidelines for establishment of Secretariats

ii. Issue of Notification for Village Secretariats.

o Determining the number of secretariats

o Finalizing designations and
number of functionaries
o Finalizing Recruitment Criteria &
Designation-wise Eligibility Criteria
o Legal Verification of Proposals - 19th July to 22st July 2019

iii. Recruitment of functionaries and

issue of appointment letters - 23nd July to 15th Sept 2019

iv. Training of Functionaries – 16th to 28th Sept 2019

v. Setting up of Secretariat Office with Furniture,
Equipments, etc. – 20th Sept 2019
vi. Allotment of selected candidates to
Village Secretariats – 30th Sept 2019
vii. Commencement of functioning of
Village Secretariats – 2nd Oct 2019

18. The Government directs all the concerned Spl. Chief Secretaries/Prl
Secretaries/Secretaries & HODs, the Commissioner PR & RD and all the District
Collectors to take further necessary action in this regard.

19. This order is issued with the concurrence of the Finance Dept vide their UO
Note No. U.O.No. FMU0MISC/457/FMU.PR&RD,RWS/2019, Computer No: 935696,
dt. 19-07-2019 to provide necessary budget to meet salaries/stipend, infrastructure,
recruitment, training for functionaries working in village secretariats.

(BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF THE GOVERNOR OF ANDHRA PRADESH)

GOPAL KRISHNA DWIVEDI

PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT
To
All the Spl. Chief Secretaries/Prl Secretaries/Secretaries to Government
The Commissioner, PR & RD Department, AP, Tadepalli, Guntur District.
All the other Heads of Department (Through concerned Secretariat Depts.)
All the District Collectors in the State.
Copy to:
The PS to Secretary to Chief Minister, AP Secretariat, Velagapudi,
The PS to Chief Secretary to Government, AP Secretariat, Velagapudi
The PS to Principal Secretary, PR&RD Department, Secretariat, Velagapudi.
SF/SC.
//FORWARDED BY ORDER//

SECTION OFFICER

7
 Annexure 1

1. Agriculture, including agricultural extension

2. Land improvement, implementation of land reforms, land consolidation
and soil conservation
3. Animal husbandry, dairying and poultry
4. Fisheries
5. Fuel and fodder
6. Markets and fairs
7. Minor irrigation, water management and watershed development
8. Small scale industries including food processing industries
9. Khadi, village and cottage industries
10. Rural housing
11. Drinking water
12. Roads, culverts, bridges, ferries, waterways and other means of
communication
13. Rural electrification, including distribution of electricity
14. Poverty alleviation Programme
15. Education, including primary and secondary schools
16. Technical training and vocational education
17. Adult and non-formal education
18. Libraries
19. Cultural activities
20. Health and sanitation, including hospitals, primary health centres and
dispensaries
21. Family welfare
22. Women and child development
23. Social welfare, including welfare of the handicapped and mentally
retarded
24. Welfare of the weaker sections, and in particular, of the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
25. Public distribution system
26. Maintenance of community assets
27. Social forestry and farm forestry
28. Minor forest produce
29. Non-conventional energy sources

GOPAL KRISHNA DWIVEDI

PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

SECTION OFFICER

8
 ANNEXURE-II
No. of No. of No. of No.of No.of Number
Nodal Secreta- function- Sanc- per-sons va- of new
Sl. Functions Department riats aries tioned work- cant posts
Desig-nation
No. (Indicative) to recruit, Pro- required in posts in ing in posts pro-
train, etc. posed Village the Dept. the to be posed
Secretariats Dept. filled
Convenor of 11114 11114 13065 7648 5417 --
Village
Panchayat
Secretariat,
1 Panchayat Secretary Raj & Rural
Tax
Development
collection,
Sanitation
Land 11114 11114 10216 8426 1790 898
Administratio
2 VRO Revenue
n, Civil
supplies
Land survey, 11114 11114 -- -- -- 11114
3 Survey Assistant Land Admini- Revenue
stration
Medical & Medical & 11114 11114 13866 11666 2200 --
4 ANM
Health Health
11114 A. 9800 -- -- -- 9800
(AHA) (1 AHA for
Animal 250 250 -- 2000
Animal Husbandry, animals
Veterinary/Fisheries B. 750 (1000 in
5 Health, Dairy Dairy (MPEA) tribal areas)
Assistant
and Fisheries Development 500 (One
& Fisheries MPEA for
300
Hectares)
Women & 11114 11114 -- -- -- 11114
Child welfare,
Mahila Police and
Mahila Police,
6 Women & Child Home
Counselling,
Welfare Assistant
Women
protection
Drinking 11114 11114 -- -- -- 11114
water & Panchayat
Engineering
7 Sanitation, all Raj & Rural
Assistant
engineering Development
works

9
 No. of No. of No. of No.of No.of Number
Secreta- function- Sanc- per- va-cant of new
Nodal
Sl. riats aries tioned sons posts to posts
Desig- Functions Department to
No Proposed required posts in work- be filled pro-
nation (Indicative) recruit, train,
. in Village the Dept. ing in posed
etc.
Secre- the
tariats Dept.
Power supply 11114 11114 10276 5585 4691 838
&Street lighting,
provide Service
Energy connections and
8 Energy
Assistant coordination with
DISCOMs,
Renewable
energy
Agri- 11114 5548 -- 9948
Farming services
culture / Agriculture/ (Agri) --
and procurement
9 Horti- Horticulture/ 4000 --
& Agri-marketing
culture Sericulture (Horti)
etc
MPEOs 400 (Seri)
Single window 11114 11114 -- -- -- 11114
system at Village Panchayat Raj
Digital
10 Secretariat and & Rural
Assistant
points-man for all Development
gadgets’ O & M
Pensions/SHGs/all 11114 11114 -- -- -- 11114
Welfare & Social Welfare
welfare
11 Education (TW dept in
programs/Housin
Assistant tribal Areas)
g and Education
14098 77554
Totals

Grand Total 91652

GOPAL KRISHNA DWIVEDI

PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

SECTION OFFICER

10
 Annexure 3

Indicative list of Village Secretariats deployed with

Functional Assistants

Number Number of Total population No. of teams of

Name of the
S.No of Gram of Village functional
District
Mandals Panchayats secretariat area assistants
1 Ananthapuram 63 1029 33,69,798 896

2 Chittor 65 1372 35,76,417 1,035

3 East Godavari 62 1072 47,46,324 1,271

4 Guntur 57 1031 35,17,052 866

5 Krishna 49 980 32,92,046 844

6 Kurnool 53 909 32,89,858 879

7 Nellore 46 940 23,07,113 665

8 Prakasam 56 1038 31,41,600 877

9 Srikakulam 38 1148 27,14,455 835

10 Visakhapatnam 39 925 26,77,823 719

11 Vizianagaram 34 921 21,84,561 664

12 WestGodavari 48 909 36,70,165 931

13 YSR Kadapa 50 791 22,57,099 632

Total 660 13065 4,07,44,311 11,114

GOPAL KRISHNA DWIVEDI

PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT

SECTION OFFICER

All The Best

Career Adda

11