Haryana to set up village secretariats

With a full-fledged secretariat in state capital Chandigarh and mini-secretariats at district headquarters, the Haryana government Tuesday announced that it will set up rural or village secretariats in villages to make delivery of services to villagers more effective.

"The Haryana government has decided to set up Gram Sachivalayas in the state to bring Gram Panchayat and village-level functionaries of all departments under one roof for better functioning and coordination and also to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability in the working of Gram Panchayat and other agencies engaged in the process of rural development," a state government spokesman said here.

The proposal has been approved by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

"In the first phase, one village secretariat will be set up in each cluster of villages. There are 6,645 villages in the state which have been clubbed in 2,294 clusters. Each cluster consists of 3-4 villages. One village secretariat in one cluster would be developed in the village having largest population," the spokesman said.

All village secretariats will be set up within three years. The panchayat offices in nearly 3,000 villages will be upgraded to convert them into village secretariats.

"The Gram Sachivalaya will be set up over one acre of land at an estimated cost of Rs.30 lakh including the cost of furniture and fixture. It will have enough space for housing the office of panchayat members, gram sachiv (village secretary) and data entry operator-cum-accountant," the spokesman said.

Adequate space will be given to the office of village level functionaries of different departments like revenue, agriculture, electricity board, public health, veterinary and others. The secretariat will have notice board displaying the time and date of visit.

The complex will also provide space for bank, post office, model ration shops and facility for internet.