Grama panchayats to install biometric systems from March 1

Eluru: West Godavari District Collector Katamneni Bhaskar revealed that the Biometric Attendance Systems would be implemented in grama panchayati offices from March 1 this year. The Collector conducted a review meeting on grama panchayats at the District Collectorate on Friday afternoon with divisional panchayat officers and executive officers of rural development.

Addressing the meeting, the collector said in the first phase that the biometric systems would be implemented at 591 clusters of grama panchayats, which will be useful to control the absence of panchayat secretaries. He directed the grama panchayat secretaries to visit the villages in the morning at 5.30 to supervise the progress of sanitation works. He directed the district panchayat officer R V Suryanarayana to implement the biometric system from March 1 in the selected cluster of villages. He revealed that he would conduct surprise checks in the villages and deal with the secretaries if they found escaping their duty.

The district collector disclosed that no property tax enhancement would be provided in grama panchayats and added that transparent tax system has been implemented through scientific methods in the district. He clarified that he wasn’t involved in respect of enhancement of taxes in panchayats and said that the government directed the panchayats not to enhance the property taxes above 25 paise per Rs 100.

Accordingly most of the panchayats enhanced the tax to 13-15 paisa per Rs 100. He also clarified that every household assessment number was uploaded online for implementing the scientific methods. He insisted that the house assessment number should link up with the Aadhar number. He also stated that Aadhar card is not mandatory for the implementation of government welfare schemes in the district.