Andhra Pradesh Government plans to rationalise village, ward secretariat employees

“Chief Minister’s photograph should not be printed on certificates issued through village and ward secretariats,” says CM Chandrababu Naidu.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to rationalise the village and ward secretariat employees to improve the services they provide. It is also contemplating appointing an aspirational secretary to introduce new technologies such as AI and drones in villages.

Chairing a review meeting on village and ward secretariats on Friday (January 10, 2025), Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu suggested the appointment of aspirational secretaries in villages. “The government can introduce technological services in villages and wards through these secretaries,” he said.

Geo-tagging of houses

“All houses will be geo-tagged by January 20, 2025. The Chief Minister’s photograph should not be printed on certificates issued through village and ward secretariats. Only the government logo should appear on certificates,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the process of issuing Aadhaar cards to all children should be completed by February 15, 2025.

Mr. Naidu suggested a survey of individuals working from home in the State. Ensure that there is one secretariat for every 2,500 people or within a 5 km radius. “In Agency areas, more secretariats may be set up if necessary,” he said.

“There are only 1,27,000 Secretariat employees as compared to the strength of 1,61,000 proposed earlier. However, the new system aims for better services with fewer employees, using the existing staff more efficiently. Once the new system is implemented, there will be an additional 15,000 staff,” he said.

“With this rationalisation, 3,562 village and ward secretariats will operate with six staff members for populations below 2,500. There will be 5,388 secretariats with seven staff members for populations between 2,500 and 3,500. For populations above 3,500, as many as 6,054 secretariats will operate with eight staff members. In total, there will be 15,004 village and ward secretariats,” the officials informed the Chief Minister.

Mr. Naidu suggested the appointment of employees trained in technology as aspirational secretaries. “These officials need to ensure that all public information is readily available and complete the data collection process by the end of the month. The village and ward secretariats should function as real-time governance offices.”

“The performance of secretariats will be evaluated and they will be rewarded accordingly,” he said, adding that secretariats should serve as the centres for skill development, industrial development, processing, marketing, employment, and value addition.