Hyderabad: IT and Industries Minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu on Sunday encouraged newly elected sarpanches to transform their gram panchayats into “digital villages.” He said this would improve civic services by making them cleaner, faster, and more transparent.
He made these remarks at a felicitation event for sarpanches from the united Ranga Reddy district, held in Shamshabad. According to the Minister, strong, well-governed villages are the true foundation of democracy. “Only when our villages are strong can our State and country move forward,” he noted.
State to fund rural digital push and basic services
Sridhar Babu assured that the government would fully support panchayats in adopting digital tools and improving village governance. He urged sarpanches to serve as active, honest links between citizens and the government. With focused efforts, each sarpanch could bring lasting change to their village, he said.
Reaffirming the State’s commitment to Gram Swaraj, the Minister announced that significant funding would be released soon for village development. He advised sarpanches to focus on essential infrastructure like cement roads, drainage systems, and street lighting. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of overseeing schools, anganwadi centres, and health sub-centres to ensure service delivery.
The Minister acknowledged that many former sarpanches faced delays in payments for completed works. The current administration, he said, is clearing those dues in phases and intends to honour all pre-election promises.
To strengthen local leadership, Sridhar Babu revealed that structured training sessions will be conducted. These programs will help sarpanches improve their skills in administration and community engagement.
MLAs Mal Reddy Rangareddy, Kasireddy Narayana Reddy, Veerlapalli Shankar, Rammohan Reddy, and Manohar Reddy attended the programme, along with district Congress leaders and the newly elected sarpanches.