CS Seeks Monthly Data From Top Bureaucrats

Hyderabad:In a bid to rejuvenate the state bureaucracy and make it Telangana Rising 2047-ready, Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao on Friday announced a slew of measures, including monthly report cards for babus, particularly those at the top levels.

In a meeting held with principal secretaries, secretaries and heads of departments at the Secretariat, the Chief Secretary also expressed concern over the complete delinking of the administrative machineries of the Centre and the state in the last 10 years and stressed the need for their re-alignment.

Official sources told Deccan Chronicle that Ramakrishna Rao made a presentation on the objectives of Niti Aayog’s Viksit Bharat 2047 plan, and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s Telangana Rising 2047, and the roadmap for aligning the latter with the country’s overall development vision. “He (CS) turned a typical professor who while sharing his knowledge also fixed targets and set strict timelines for reaching them,” said a senior official.

Sources said that while insisting on greater accountability, Ramakrishna Rao asked the officers to submit monthly reports, not only department-wise but with regard to specific schemes and projects. He also cautioned against the use of artificial intelligence (AI), thereby exposing a monotonous approach in preparing the reports.

Ramakrishna Rao referred to various AI tools that help in switching over from hard work to smart work, and sought suggestions from the participants based on their own experience of using AI in day-to-day administration.

Telangana lagged behind in availing funds through Central schemes following the political tiff the then chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao picked with the Centre. Ramakrishna Rao, who also served as finance department head for a record number of years, said it was high time for the state government to make the best use of Central schemes. “We must ensure that the state gets the last penny possible from the Centre,” he said adding that he would send secretaries concerned for various orientation programmes conducted by the Centre on its schemes.

With the Chief Minister deciding to hold Cabinet meetings once in a fortnight, the Chief Secretary mooted the proposal of holding secretary/HoDs meetings once a month. “The CS said a specific day will be fixed for the Cabinet meeting on the lines of the Union Cabinet and accordingly a date will be finalised for our meetings with him,” another official said.