National Informatics Centre Services Inc. Pradesh... · The ePRI MMP has been envisioned to overcome the challenges faced by ... The main objectives taken into account during the

Ministry of Panchayati Raj

ePRI Study Project - Phase III

Volume I

To - Be Scenario Report

for

Panchayati Raj Institutions

in

State of Andhra Pradesh

By

National Informatics Centre Services Inc.

November, 2009

ePRI Study Project (Phase III) To - Be Report – Andhra Pradesh

National Informatics Centre Services Inc. Page 2 of 219

Confidentiality Statement

This report is intended solely for the information and use of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of

India, State Panchayati Raj Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh National Informatics Centre and

should not be used, circulated, quoted or otherwise referred to for any other purpose by any institution or

individual other than the Ministry, State PR department and National Informatics Centre, nor included or

referred to in whole or in part in any document without the prior consent of National Informatics Centre

Services Inc. or the Ministry.



Table of Contents

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................................... 7

2. PROJECT BACKGROUND – PRIS IN ANDHRA PRADESH ............................................................................................................. 11

3. VISION & OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................................................................. 12

4. APPROACH & METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................. 14

5. INFORMATION & SERVICES NEEDS AND GAP ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................................... 19

5.1. Key Information and Services Needs arising from Phase I and Phase II of the Study .......................................................... 19

5.1.1. Information Needs and Challenges ......................................................................................................................................... 19

5.1.2. List of services Identified for Reengineering ........................................................................................................................... 42

5.2. Gap Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................................. 44

5.2.1. PRI Internal functions ............................................................................................................................................................... 44

5.2.2. Service Delivery ......................................................................................................................................................................... 60

5.2.2.1. Sanction of private water tap connection .............................................................................................................................. 60

5.2.2.2. Inclusion of name in Voters’ list & issue of Voter ID card ...................................................................................................... 72

5.2.3. Capacity .................................................................................................................................................................................... 76

5.2.3.1. Organizational Structure.......................................................................................................................................................... 77

5.2.3.2. Manpower................................................................................................................................................................................. 79

5.2.3.3. Skills ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 81

5.2.4. ICT Infrastructure...................................................................................................................................................................... 95

5.2.5. Gap in integration with selected NeGP initiatives ................................................................................................................. 99

6. PROPOSED TO-BE SCENARIO – RECOMMENDED FUTURE STATE OF PRIS IN ANDHRA PRADESH ............................................ 101

6.1. PRI Internal Functions ............................................................................................................................................................101

6.1.1. Planning ..................................................................................................................................................................................101

6.1.2. Implementation and Reporting .............................................................................................................................................103

6.1.3. Budgeting ................................................................................................................................................................................106

6.1.4. Accounting ..............................................................................................................................................................................108

6.1.5. Pension Processing (Both PRI staff and through IGNOAPS) ................................................................................................111



6.1.6. Provident Fund Management ................................................................................................................................................111

6.1.7. Record Management .............................................................................................................................................................112

6.1.8. Correspondence Management ..............................................................................................................................................114

6.1.9. Grievance Redressal ...............................................................................................................................................................114

6.1.10. Administration and Governance ...........................................................................................................................................115

6.1.11. Tax and Fee Collection at Gram Level ...................................................................................................................................116

6.1.12. Asset Management ................................................................................................................................................................116

6.1.13. Citizen Awareness...................................................................................................................................................................117

6.1.14. Maintenance of Drinking Water Assets ................................................................................................................................117

6.2. Re-engineered Government to Citizen Service Delivery Processes .....................................................................................118

6.2.1. Sanction of water tap connection (Existing service) ............................................................................................................118

6.2.1.1. To -Be Process Map ................................................................................................................................................................118

6.2.1.2. Pre-requisites ..........................................................................................................................................................................119

6.2.1.3. Legal Changes .........................................................................................................................................................................119

6.2.1.4. Process Narration ...................................................................................................................................................................119

6.2.1.5. Escalation Matrix....................................................................................................................................................................121

6.2.1.6. KPI, Critical Success Factors, Dependencies..........................................................................................................................121

6.2.1.7. Recommendations & Impact .................................................................................................................................................122

6.2.2. Inclusion of name in Voters’ list & issue of Voter ID card (New service) ............................................................................123

6.2.2.1. To – Be Process Map ..............................................................................................................................................................123

6.2.2.2. Pre-requisites ..........................................................................................................................................................................124

6.2.2.3. Legal Changes .........................................................................................................................................................................124

6.2.2.4. Process Narration ...................................................................................................................................................................124

6.2.2.5. Escalation Matrix....................................................................................................................................................................125

6.2.2.6. KPI, Critical Success Factors, Dependencies..........................................................................................................................125

6.2.2.7. Recommendations and Impact ..............................................................................................................................................126

6.3. Capacity Building ....................................................................................................................................................................127

6.3.1. To-Be Organization Structure - Structural changes .............................................................................................................127

6.3.2. Capabilities - Manpower ........................................................................................................................................................129

6.3.3. Capacities - Skill sets ..............................................................................................................................................................130

6.3.4. Capabilities - Training ............................................................................................................................................................134

6.4. Possible integration with selected NeGP initiatives .............................................................................................................146

6.4.1. Internet connectivity ..............................................................................................................................................................146

6.4.2. State Data Centers (SDC) .......................................................................................................................................................146



6.4.3. State Disaster Recovery Centers (SDRC) ...............................................................................................................................147

6.4.4. Citizen Service Centers ...........................................................................................................................................................147

6.4.5. State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG) ................................................................................................................................147

6.4.6. National Panchayat Portal (NPP) ..........................................................................................................................................147

6.5. E–enabled Scenario ................................................................................................................................................................148

6.5.1. Service Access & Delivery Channels and associated models ...............................................................................................149

6.5.2. Software Application Modules recommended .....................................................................................................................154

6.5.3. Common Databases recommended ......................................................................................................................................158

6.5.4. Infrastructure recommended.................................................................................................................................................158

6.5.4.1. Civil Infrastructure ..................................................................................................................................................................158

6.5.4.2. IT Infrastructure recommended ............................................................................................................................................158

6.6. Best Practices ..........................................................................................................................................................................165

7. MAPPING PROPOSED SOLUTION AGAINST GAPS AND NEEDS IDENTIFIED ............................................................................. 167

7.1. Internal Functions ...................................................................................................................................................................167

7.1.1. Planning ..................................................................................................................................................................................167

7.1.2. Implementation and Monitoring ...........................................................................................................................................169

7.1.3. Budgeting ................................................................................................................................................................................172

7.1.4. Accounting ..............................................................................................................................................................................175

7.1.5. Other Functions – Pension Processing ..................................................................................................................................179

7.1.6. Other Function – Provident Fund Processing........................................................................................................................181

7.1.7. Other Function - Correspondence Management ..................................................................................................................182

7.1.8. Other function - Grievance Redressal ...................................................................................................................................183

7.1.9. Other function – Administration and Governance ...............................................................................................................184

7.1.10. Other function – Tax and fee collection at GP level .............................................................................................................185

7.1.11. Other function – Fixed Asset management ..........................................................................................................................187

7.1.12. Other function – Citizen Awareness ......................................................................................................................................188

7.1.13. Other function – Maintenance of Drinking Water Assets ...................................................................................................189

7.2. Service Delivery .......................................................................................................................................................................190

7.3. ICT Infrastructure....................................................................................................................................................................198

7.4. Capacity ..................................................................................................................................................................................201

8. KEY ASSUMPTIONS FOR PROPOSED SOLUTION ..................................................................................................................... 207

8.1. Key assumptions / Pre requisites / Considerations ..............................................................................................................207

8.2. Dependencies ..........................................................................................................................................................................207



8.3. Risks and Mitigating factors ..................................................................................................................................................208

9. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 209

10. WAY FORWARD ................................................................................................................................................................. 219



1. Executive Summary

The ePRI MMP has been envisioned to overcome the challenges faced by the rural citizens and PRI officials in Andhra Pradesh. Subsequent to the gaps as well as key information and services need identified during the field study, the Business Process Reenginnering (BPR) phase was undertaken to devise a set of interventions or improvement opportunities in a number of key areas such as Planning, Implementation, Monitoring, Budgeting, G2C services and so on with an aim to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of these processes. The main objectives taken into account during the BPR phase were : 1. Transparency & Accountability 2. Improved Decision making 3. Internal Process Improvement 4. Improved Service Delivery to Citizens 5. Convenience to Government Employees 6. Better Segregation of Duties. During our study, we identified key information and service requirements of citizens as well as PRIs in Andhra Pradesh. It was observed that the awareness of services offered by Gram panchayat is experiential and need based, that is, not until the service is required The key information requirements of citizens are related to : timely notification of schemes and scheme-related information including benefits, eligibility criteria, timelines etc, status tracking of scheme applications, services provided by gram panchayat and associated service levels as enshrined in the citizen charter, application requirements, BRGF agenda and development planning, list of works prioritized, funds sanctioned and their status and status of works undertaken. The key point which emerged when we interacted with citizens to assess their needs regarding new services is that citizens want the GP office to function as a single service window and one-stop application and delivery point for services which are currently being provided by the revenue department and other line departments. They expressed their desire to receive additional services from the GP office, such as issuance of caste, income, nativity and residence certificates, updation of ration cards, application for voter’s ID card, reservation of bus and train tickets etc. It was also observed that there is a need for standardization of service applications through easily available application forms, and a need for guidance on service requests.

Our interaction with PR officials across the three tiers revealed key information requirements related to planning and budgeting, implementation and monitoring, schemes, services, development and other important areas. The common needs across the three tiers include : Timely notification of planning priorities and guidelines, integration of annual planning with budgeting, information about events/initiatives of other line departments, integrated planning to avoid duplication and redundancy of works, detailed information about all scheme beneficiaries and benefit utilization to check for coverage, duplication and abuse, up-to-date spatial database of all assets, physical and financial monitoring of status of works and deviations in execution – technical design, timelines, budget etc as part of the utilization certificate, integration of financial transactions with works in the plan, detailed citizen database comprising up to date information such as names, family members, occupation, caste etc, information about all past works undertaken in BRGF and other schemes, and information about services offered by GPs (for ZP and MP) and adherence to prescribed service levels. Other important administrative requirements include detailed asset register of all assets held at that level and below (if applicable), easy look up and retrieval of all information captured in registers, computerized



accounting to digitally link multiple registers, record of modifications made to any entry to ensure transparency and accountability, complaints received and detailed information about PRI staff and their routine activities. There is a need to have a single, vertically aggregated view of important scheme and non-scheme data at higher levels (MP, ZP and state) to ensure proper monitoring. In order to improve the Planning function, the District Collector should make it mandatory for all plans (including those prepared by line departments) to be prepared by the DPC and approved in the General Body meeting (irrespective of source of funding & executing agency).DPC’s membership should be expanded to include the senior most line department functionaries at the district level.Planning process should commence with sectoral/functional feedback collected in a gram sabha covering the pressing needs, progress so far, future demands and expectations.Spatial information regarding existing assets (roads, wells, tanks etc) should be considered while planning new works.Role of the Technical Advisory Committee should cover all works at the district and mandal level, and not just BRGF works.Line department plans should also be uploaded on PlanPlus to provide a single, unified view, and avoid duplication.Training session on effective planning techniques should be conducted one month before the planning process begins at the mandal level. Reporting on the month’s fund utilization and revenue collection should be automated. Monthly performance reports should be generated electronically and shared with all users. This should be followed by a review meeting between the E.O. PR&RD and the Panchayat Secretary (for GP) and between CEO ZP and MPDO for MP, and the outcome/action points should be documented to be discussed in the next meeting. An electronic tracking system should be set up in PlanPlus to track progress of BRGF works finalized at the beginning of the year. In addition to estimated cost, timelines should also be entered against each work. The physical and financial progress dashboard must be complemented by a bi-monthly onsite verification to authenticate progress reports submitted Scheme-specific dashboards can be generated capturing details such as beneficiaries covered, % coverage, reason for delays (if any) and other relevant metrics through a scheme management module similar to RAGAS. For G2C services, a monthly summary report should be generated containing information such as no of applications received, no of applications processed within specified SLAs, pending applications, service fees collected etc by service for each GP. These reports should be uploaded on the Panchayat portal for citizens and other departments to access as well. For more effective budgeting, there should be a web-based software application for preparation of budget for all three tiers. The entire budgeting process should be carried out on the software application starting from preparation to obtaining approvals. The budgeting software should be linked with accounting software for automated generation of variance reports. Automated controls can be placed whereby system will not allow accounting entry to be passed beyond the budgeted amount under a particular head without appropriate approval. Calendar or timetable for generation and submission of various reports and statements should be



developed and circulated at all the tiers of PRIs in the beginning of the financial year. All the accounting registers and records should be digitized. For pension processing, a district level pension portal should be set up through which Head masters and MPDOs can upload pension proposals along with scanned documents. These documents can then be downloaded by the Pension section at the ZP office for further processing. In the long term, digital communication links can be established between the Pension section and the District Audit Office as well as the District Treasury office. For PF processing, a PF number should be generated automatically for new employees without waiting for them to apply for the same. This should be a part of the joining formalities. The payroll master should be updated with the subscription amount and updated annually immediately after promotions / increments have been granted. The payroll processing software should draw inputs from the payroll master, and hence calculate accurate salary amounts after taking into account PF deductions. The process for PF loan applications should be automated with the employee applying for the same through an employee portal and subsequent workflows and approvals being automated. The payroll master should also be updated with the loan amortization/repayment schedule to enable automatic deductions in the payroll processing cycle. In order to improve the speed and effectiveness of communication, transmission of circulars, notifications and any other office-related information should be done via email. All circulars, memos, GOs etc should be uploaded on the District portal to facilitate easy access. The Panchayat portal should be updated with the annual meeting calendar and outcome of all statutory meetings to be convened by ZP, MP and GP. Each PRI office at ZP, MP and GP should maintain an itemized inventory (both online and offline) of all fixed assets (both IT-related and others) with a unique asset code. To improve the state of citizen awareness, information on scheme benefits, mode of delivery and eligibility for application should be made available in an concise and easy-to-use formats such as post card size cards, pamphlets etc to citizens in local language. Prominent citizens within the village community (such as Headmaster, Aanganwadi workers, SHG members) should be used to generate awareness of new schemes. Posters containing details of all current schemes (written/printed in a large font size in Telugu) should be pasted outside the GP office as well as at key locations where citizen traffic is generally high (local market, Aanganwadi center, Local school, PHCs etc ). Citizen charter should be updated with the list of services offered at the GP office along with the stipulated timelines. Some key changes to improve delivery of G2C services include standardization of service request through pre-designed form bearing a serial number and a check-list of supporting documentation, and the option for online applications / service requests for citizens. Various records and registers like Cash Book, Birth / Death certificate, etc. should be maintained electronically. Either computer generated acknowledgement or counter



foil of the application after stamping should be provided to the citizen. At the same time, maintenance of Inward registers to record all the applications received and Outward registers to record delivery of service is proposed. The key recommendations for enhancing the ICT infrastructure available at PRIs include both software and hardware-related interventions. To comprehensively cover the functions and activities of PRI, the applications recommended are: Integrated Finance & Accounts module, Personnel Management, Scheme Management, Geographic Information System (GIS), Fixed Asset Management and Online Registers. As part of the future state with IT enabled process workflows and functions, it is imperative that all PRI offices are provided IT Desktops and peripherals along with LAN and WAN connectivity. A centralized 3 tier architecture is proposed. The same, contingent on connectivity, is proposed in a hybrid semi-centralized model in short and long term maintaining the essence of the centralized architecture. Given the present constraints and delay in rollout of SWAN connectivity to the Mandal and village level, a short term solution of hiring a private service provider across the state or in regions of state has been recommended with a plan to migrate to SWAN in long term. The changes recommended above should be complemented by robust capacity building initiatives. At the district level, there is a need for strong project management expertise to engage with line departments and plan, implement and monitor scheme and non-scheme related works. There is a need to appoint an assistant to the CEO and MPDO respectively so that workload gets reduced and they have adequate time to conduct tours and monitor development activity rather than focusing largely on administrative issues. Regular refresher trainings and online assistance should be provided to officials on various relevant subjects. Performance evaluation should be done by the seniors for their subordinated post their trainings.



2. Project Background – PRIs in Andhra Pradesh

Development of PRIs in the state of Andhra Pradesh will require a series of initiatives and focused interventions aimed at tackling the problems they currently face. Capacity building through filling up of key vacant positions and through requisite training in core functional, technological and behavioral areas is crucial in order to equip PRI officials and elected representatives with the knowledge, tools and capabilities to execute their tasks more effectively. The role played by the DPO and the engineering department should be tightly integrated with that of the PRIs to improve coordination and overall effectiveness of initiatives. In order to achieve the objective of devolution, the state government needs to issue follow-up notifications and guidelines and monitor and review progress regularly to address challenges, issues and concerns. Furthermore, complementary steps in devolution of funds and functionaries need to be undertaken to achieve devolution of powers in letter and in spirit. There is a strong need for integrated scheme planning and improved information exchange between PRIs and line departments both at the district and mandal levels to ensure appropriate citizen coverage, avoid duplication of works and ensure optimal utilization of resources. The role played by PRIs and decision rights enjoyed by them in parallel committees, especially at the mandal and gram levels, needs to be improved to improve local self-governance. There is a strong need for vertical integration of data at the district level to get a single unified view of all information related to local area functioning. For services whose execution spans all three tiers from gram to mandal to district, it may also be prudent to develop a suite of software which enables automated workflow and vertical aggregation of tasks and data.



3. Vision & Objectives

The ePRI MMP has been envisioned to overcome the challenges faced by the rural citizens and PRI officials. These challenges range from lack of reliable communication infrastructure, delay in provision of services (Licenses, Certificate etc), and low revenue mobilization for implementing schemes at the GP level to lack of monitoring mechanism for the schemes. The e-PRI project aims to progressively support all Panchayats and State Governments in the country to make effective use of IT in various activities. The vision of evolving model e-Panchayat system in the country is encapsulated in the following objectives:

a. Transparency & Accountability: Building trust between government and citizen is fundamental to good governance. In order to achieve this, e-Governance is increasingly becoming a tool to address issues of accountability, transparency, and efficiency. Greater people participation should be encouraged in planning process, promoting open and accountable government processes etc. As the PRIs are the government entity closest to the people, they are the most suited to achieving this end. ICT can play a crucial role in making the information publicly accessible. Moreover, the aim is to provide external visibility & accountability through social audits, thereby strengthening the Panchayats Raj based delivery systems.

b. Improved Decision Making: The e-PRI project would help PRIs to create, generate, and own integrated databases relating to diverse fields spanning poverty, land, health, education, irrigation, agriculture, assets etc. It also aims to digitize the various registers & household related information. Access to such data repository would facilitate the PRIs in making better decisions and planning for villages would be improved. This decision making would be more representative of people’s needs as their needs and grievances would be tracked and monitored while planning. The State Line Departments can also benefit from such data repositories as they expect PRIs to feed them with authentic data.

c. Internal Process Improvement: In order to strengthen the PRIs it is important that their internal processes are optimized. While the thrust on improving quality of services & effectiveness of information dissemination is rightly placed, it is equally important to focus on improving internal functioning of PRIs as it will be difficult to achieve any substantial improvements vis-à-vis service delivery and information dissemination without building internal capacity. ICT would also strengthen linkages between the PRIs and departments ensuring seamless information sharing.

d. Improved Service Delivery to Citizens: The NeGP vision consists of making all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through common service delivery outlets. This ensures efficiency, transparency, and reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man. The services should be delivered to the citizens in a timely and cost effective manner. Citizen requires quick and easy access to services not only from the PRIs but also from other



line departments. Massive amount of time and money is spent in commuting between different offices to obtain the information and to avail the required services. Keeping such challenges in mind, e-PRI aims to offer not only the mandated services but also those that are highly demanded by citizens through Panchayats.

e. Convenience to Government Employees: This has by far been the most neglected aspect in the design of eGovernance projects. Most eGovernance interventions fail because the importance of employee buy-in is underemphasized. Hence, the ePRI project solution has been designed keeping in mind the needs and convenience of the employees who will be using this system.

f. Segregation of Duties: Roles and responsibilities of the PR officials at different levels are assessed with respect to their capabilities and capacities for executing the task. Accordingly, the administrative structures should be reorganized and roles and responsibilities redefined for effective execution of works by PRIs.



4. Approach & Methodology

It is important to have a well defined approach and methodology for executing a project of this magnitude in the desired timeframe. Accordingly, a four phase approach (refer figure 1) has been designed as illustrated below:

Figure 1: Project Approach

The Initiation and Planning phase (Phase I) primarily focused on setting the tone for execution of the project. The key outcomes of this phase were identification of stakeholders, the consultation mechanism with the stakeholders and formalizing the deliverable templates. During this phase data gathering tools and templates were also prepared, which were targeted on focused information capture. The INS Needs assessment phase (Phase II) involved interaction, including a survey, with the identified stakeholders. This phase resulted in forming an understanding of the needs of the stakeholders and helped in identification of the services. The citizen centric services that are currently being delivered through PRIs and the services that are expected to be delivered through PRIs were also identified and studied. This report is about the Process Re-engineering phase (Phase III), which entails the in-depth analysis of the identified services and creating As-Is process document. This will lead to the To-Be scenario, where the services would be re-engineered for optimizing the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.

►Conducting interviews and discussions at district, block and gram panchayats

►Review ICT infrastructure at panchayats

►Review CSS and activity mapping at panchayats

►Prioritization of information and services needs

Initiation and planning

I&S Needs assessment

►Study As-Is service portfolio

►Reengineer existing processes

►Create To-Be process maps for new services based on I&S needs assessment report.

Process Re-engineering

►Estimate ICT requirements for Ministry and state►Define strategy for

roll-out►Define project

management & M&E structure►Define

communication plan►Define change

management strategy►Determine total

budget requirements

DPR Preparation

Project mgmt plan and Study templates

I&S Needs assessment

Process Re-engineering Report

Detailed Project Report

► Identifying key stakeholders

►Understanding project expectations

►Assessing current state of governance initiatives, ICT infrastructure, activity mapping, CSS etc. at state level

►Preparing data gathering tools and study templates



The DPR preparation phase (Phase IV) will be the eventual outcome of the study where apart from State specific DPR, a national DPR would also prepared. This national DPR would be shared with the states to enable them to directly undertake implementation of e-Governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions. The following sections details the approach and methodology adopted during the ISNA Study

This section presents the overall approach and methodology carried out for designing the To-Be Scenario of

the PRIs in Andhra Pradesh

Figure 2: Phase III - Approach

During ISNA phase, meetings were conducted with process owners & state Panchayati Raj Department to understand: • Vision and objectives of the department • Organizational set-up and broad functions • Key processes at macro level Subsequently in the phase III, the following steps as described in the figure above are followed to reengineer the Processes and design the To Be Scenario for the PRIs:- • As-Is Process Study: The first step towards re-engineering of services & internal functioning of PRIs

involved studying the existing process (As-Is). In order to do that the study team identified the key process

ISNA

As Is Study

Identifying the Gaps / Pain Areas in the current process of Service Delivery

Identifying the Opportunities of

Improvement

Defining the To Be Common Components

across Services

Designing the To Be Process Maps addressing the People,

Process and Technology Gaps identified

Designing the To Be Scenario for PRIs in terms of Technology, Processes

and People

P H

A

S

E

II

P H A S E

III



owners and stakeholders of the process. The project study team prioritized the list of services to be re-engineered, in co-operation with citizens, Officials of all three tier of PRI & State PR department. The team visited all offices involved in service delivery of the identified services. For gathering information regarding services, the team met officials which consisted of CEO Zilla Parishad, Project Director DRDA, District level officers of line departments, Block Development Officers, Tehsildar, Welfare extension officers, Panchayat Secretary , rural citizens etc. All related forms & documents like GO, records, volume of transactions etc were collected. Apart from prioritizing the G2C services that could be delivered through Panchayats the team also studied the G2G functional areas which included planning, implementation, and Monitoring & Accounting processes of PRIs. The team interacted with all the stake holders involved in the process. These stake holders were standing committee members, ward members, sarpanch, panchayat secretary, village level workers, Additional Block development officers, Block Development officer, CEO Zilla Parishad, and other PRI officials. The team also met officials from line department, NGOs, and other active functionaries’ at all three tiers of PRIs. The processes of G2G functional areas were studied and the existing gaps were analyzed. The analysis of gaps in the process led the team to recommend IT applications that can be implemented for PRIs to expedite & regularize the internal process. Based on the understanding of the team about the process by different stake holders & process owners the team prepared the As-Is process report. The report consisted of As-Is process Maps, narration of the activity along with information like process owner, stake holders involved, registers involved, documents required etc.

• Identifying Gaps: Having studied the detailed As – Is processes of the services prioritized for re engineering, key gaps and pain areas w.r.t. People, Process and Technology were identified.

o Process Analysis: - The processes were split into sub-process and value analysis was carried on, to categorize sub-processes into value adding & non-value adding processes. While doing BPR our approach was to eradicate or minimize these non-value adding steps. On doing so the team was in regular touch with concerned process owners so that validation could be done instantly.

o People Analysis: - The As-Is process also consisted of studying the manpower availability. For this the team captured information on sanctioned strength of manpower against men in position. This helped the team to know the required manpower strength. Further to know the actual requirement of human resources the team also discussed on existing work load of PRIs with CEO Zilla Parishad, Block Development officer & Panchayat secretary. This gave an insight into the requirement of enhancing the existing sanctioned strength. Apart from studying the manpower position the team also analyzed the skills available with existing resources. The approach for analyzing the skill sets available was one to one interview with various stake holders. The discussion topics were mainly on



the roles and responsibilities of the stake holders and the method they follow to render their responsibilities i.e. follow the age old traditional method or any advanced technology or approach being used. Thus the team came into conclusion on requirement of skills & manpower.

o Technology Analysis: - Many states have taken initiative and developed certain state specific IT infrastructure. The team consulted about the same with state IT department, NIC, State PR Department, Line departments, and PRIs. This helped the team to know the existing infrastructure like software, hardware, connectivity etc present at different levels of PRIs & Line department. Apart from studying the state specific initiatives due consideration was also given to study the MMPs like CSC, e-District, State Wide Area Network & State Data Centre. This helped team to know the ICT requirement of the state and the possible integration point.

• Identifying Opportunities for Improvement: The Gaps identified in the above step were translated

into the areas of improvement and were mapped closely to the objectives of the ePRI project i.e. o Transparency & Accountability o Improved Decision Making o Internal Process Improvement o Improved Service Delivery to Citizens o Convenience to Government Employees

• Defining the To Be Common Components: Based on the common gap and pain areas and

improvement areas identified, a common set of Components were defined e.g. the Form Availability Component, Payment Component, Application receipt, Application rejection etc. The objective of defining the common set of components is to bring in standardization in process of Application Submission, Application Receipt, Application Status Tracking, Certificate Issuance, Grievance Redressal, Information Provisioning etc. across all the prioritized services selected for reengineering while keeping in mind the addition of any more services to be delivered through PRIs in future.

• Designing To – Be Process Maps: To-Be process maps were developed along with the supporting

narrations which were validated through discussions with Panchayat officials. Prerequisites and dependencies were defined for all the To-Be processes. Key Recommendations made were mapped to the objectives they directly impact. An Escalation Matrix was also defined for all the To- Be processes to indicate the Escalation process and conditions. Any Legal Changes involved are also highlighted for the respective new processes. Volume I briefly touch upon the To Be process maps for services, while Volume II details out the processes proposed for all the selected services.

• Designing To – Be Scenario of PRIs: After defining the reengineered processes based on the

component based approach as above, interventions in terms of technology, processes and people are defined to design the To BE scenario of the PRIs. Technology interventions define the gamut of



applications required to be developed or enhanced to support the reengineered processes and requirements defined for service delivery and internal functioning of PRIs. The set of databases is also defined to create a pool of digital information to support the MIS needs of the PRIs and other stakeholders. Connectivity options till the grass root level are also proposed. Process Intervention defines the changes and improvements in the service delivery and internal functioning at PRIs. Based on the proposed interventions as above, the people level interventions are defined which define requirements in terms of more manpower and the skill sets required by Officials to perform their activities in a better way.

The following sections detail out each of the aspects described above to give the reader a detailed understanding of the proposed To – Be Scenario of PRIs in Andhra Pradesh



5. Information & Services Needs and Gap Assessment

Objective of section: Summarize the Information needs, Services needs and the key gaps observed in aspects like PRI functions, service delivery, capacity, infrastructure, integration with NeGP initiatives and internal automation.

5.1. Key Information and Services Needs arising from Phase I and Phase II of the Study

5.1.1. Information Needs and Challenges

Information and service requirements of citizens and PR and line departments form the underlying basis of the ePRI project. To acquire a clear and consistent understanding of the needs and challenges currently faced by the respective stakeholders, we conducted in depth meetings with PRIs and other line department officials at multiple levels and facilitated gram sabhas for interaction with the citizens. These interactions enabled us to uncover the most compelling and significant needs of all stakeholders. Some needs were stated explicitly by stakeholders whereas others have been inferred based on the meetings and interviews conducted. The information needs and the gaps that currently exist at all levels are summarized below: a. Information needs of the citizens

List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State A Information Needs A1 Scheme Related i. Notification regarding schemes

facilitating timely response • While citizens are notified regarding schemes through

gram sabha, beating of tom-tom, exhibiting on the notice board and using local print media and by involving SHG members, some of the villagers have indicated that information is not received in a timely manner for them to respond.

ii. Scheme information related to: • Benefits • Eligibility / Selection Criteria • Application requirements and

procedure • Type of support Timelines for application and disbursement

• Presently, villagers expressed challenges in obtaining clear and comprehensive information on i. Benefits ii. Eligibility / Selection Criteria iii. Application requirements and procedure iv. Type of support v. Timelines for application and disbursement

While the same may be notified during gram sabha and through other means of mass communication (tom-tom,



posters, etc), there is a need for the information to readily available for easy access anytime at the panchayat office for the villager in the form of an information desk/circulars/posters/display boards

iii. Tracking status of applications for schemes

Currently there is no formal process to obtain clear and comprehensive information on status of the applications from the panchayat office for the: • Interim period between applying for scheme and

receiving the benefit • Expected time for availing the benefit, which results in

numerous visits by citizens to panchayat or line department offices at mandal and district level

iv. Transparency and responsiveness in Query handling

• As some of the schemes require interactions with multiple departments and levels in each department, the villager today faces challenges in receiving a clear and affirmative response on his queries related to application for schemes, payment issues, etc

• Facility to record a query at a single source, preferably in the nearest office location and ability to receive a time-bound response from the respective personnel/agency is desired. A written or recorded response could help address the issue of accountability and help in further escalation. Currently Praja Vaani, a web-based software developed by NIC Hyderabad, appears to be the only formal mechanism available with the villager for escalation of grievances

v. VOs and SHG group members as information agents for all schemes

• It is seen that VOs and SHG members have higher outreach to the villagers. However, this channel is currently utilized only for the pension schemes and could be strengthened for smoother and faster dissemination of information related to other functional areas of panchayat and line departments.

A2 Development & Planning i. Notification on specific agenda and

expected role and contribution of villagers for the upcoming Gram Sabha (Development (BRGF)

• Modes (beating of tom-tom, exhibiting on the notice board and circulars) adopted to communicate the agenda for the gram sabhas are not sufficient. It is seen that in spite of the notifications through these modes,



Planning /Annual Statement of Accounts/ proposals for fresh taxation, duties or their enhancements/selection of schemes, beneficiaries/others - event/initiative specific)

villagers are not aware of the agenda for the gram sabhas and of their specific role in gram sabhas, and thus meaningful gram sabhas are not conducted

ii Means of notifying GP on works identified by citizen if absent during Gram Sabha

• There is no alternative mechanism available with citizens to notify the works during the planning process of various schemes/projects, in case, the gram sabha is not attended by the citizen

iii Information on list of works identified and prioritized as part of planning

• There is a lack of awareness of the process for identification and prioritization of works and allocation of funds. In the absence of this information, citizens tend to become critical of the works carried out or lack thereof.

• Many citizens are not aware of the BRGF plan and the scope of works that can be taken up as part of the same

iv Information about funds sanctioned against works

• The information once shared in gram sabha is available in registers with Panchayat. The same is not widely communicated to the villagers.

v Information on plan and status on works

• No mid-term/interim assessment of works was undertaken in public forum like gram sabha. Only annual review as part of next year planning is discussed.

• Shelf of works once prepared as part of planning is not updated with information on status of completion and issues are not communicated to villagers

A3 Others i Early notification of potential events -

drought, disease outbreak once detected in nearby regions and planned events like health camps, etc

• Currently such information in not available in a timely manner to enable prior planning by citizens

ii Information on routine tasks to be carried out by GP - water chlorination, cleaning of roads and drains, fumigation, etc

• Currently such information is maintained in registers and not communicated to the villagers

iii Information of initiatives from other departments e.g., Adarsh Raithu (Agricultural Dept), Immunization

• Currently such information is not available with Panchayat and is maintained with respective line department representatives. Panchayats are notified



programs and camps, etc. only for facilitating any forums and events related to the initiatives.

B Services Related B1 Information need i Information on services provided by

GP as enshrined in the Citizen Charter and services provided by other government bodies

• Citizens are not fully aware of the services mandated to be provided by the GP office and line departments.

• Citizen charter, which is the only document which details out the services which are are provided by panchayat, is not regularly updated.

• Citizens are also not aware of the service levels that the GP is expected to adhere to

ii Requirements for applying to a service

• Standardization of service request through pre-designed form with a serial number and a check-list of supporting documentation are required for prompt acceptance of service request and for avoiding any errors in the information provided

iii Status of application • Presently, the acceptance of an application for a service is not formally recorded by the panchayat office. An acknowledgement and a serial number for the purpose of tracking are also not provided. Villagers have indicated that many a times they have re-applied for a service as the panchayat officials could not trace the previous application.

B2 Services - Current and Newly Identified i Some of the new services desired by

citizens from the Gram Panchayat are: 1. Issue of caste, income, residency

and nativity certificates at GP level 2. Update of ration cards 3. Application for voter's ID card 4. Issuance of a single Identity card 5. Application for gas connections at

GP office 6. Application for PAN 7. Issue of birth and death

certificates at GP even after the stipulated time-limit for registration

• Villagers have expressed discomfort in availing these services (the ones already existing today) from the respective agencies due to some or all of the following factors: • Respective service points are far from the village –

incurring travel cost and losing productive time • Low responsiveness entailing multiple visits • Preferential treatment and malpractices in certain

cases from the personnel in charge



is over

B3 Service Delivery i Panchayat to be the single citizen

interface for all government services • Citizens have expressed the desire that the GP office

should function as a ‘One-stop’ for all service requests and delivery

• There is need for a directory of services and their service delivery points that should be readily accessible by the citizens

ii Consistent delivery of service • Currently the service delivery at panchayat office is not consistent. While there exist a Citizen Charter that provides the service levels for some of the services, compliance to the same is a challenge.

• Some of the services listed in the citizen charter are not currently offered by panchayats, thus warranting the need for updating the citizen charter

iii Each service request should be standardized (application-form based) thus avoiding rejection/reapplication due to incomplete information

• For almost all of the services offered by the panchayat office today, the request for application is most often a hand-written letter. The villager and panchayat officials spend additional time in establishing clarity of the information that is required to apply for the service which is missing in the request letter. It may warrant another visit to the panchayat with the required details.

• Standardization of service request through pre-designed form with a serial number and a check-list of supporting documentation are required for prompt acceptance of service request and for avoiding any errors in the information provided.

B4 Service Delivery Support i Mechanism for grievance redressal -

segregation of duties for service delivery and grievance redressal

• In the current setup of gram panchayats, the person/office responsible for delivery of service is also responsible for receipt of complaints. This at times could lead to conflict of interest and hence segregation of duties is required for complaint handling and grievance redressal related to service delivery

ii Transparency and responsiveness in Complaint and Query handling

• Currently the record of complaints is not or ill maintained by the gram panchayats. No allotment of a complaint number, stipulation of response duration is provided to



the villager. Although a Citizen charter exists, which lists down certain types of complaints, it does not cover all types of complaints and the adherence to the prescribed service level is not done or checked.

• Facility to record a query and ability to receive a time-bound response from the respective personnel/agency is desired. A written or recorded response could help address the issue of accountability and help in further escalation. Currently Praja Vaani appears to be the only formal mechanism available with the villager for escalation of grievances. Currently Praja Vaani appears to be the only formal mechanism available with the villager for escalation of grievances, which is not used in all the districts.

iii Free and easy availability of application forms

• Application forms for the services may not be available in the panchayat office. Citizen has to purchase it from the local photocopy shops at a cost (Rs 2).

iv Guidance on service request • Presently, applying for a service typically entails frequent visits to the panchayat office by the villager, errors in applications and frequent clarifications by the panchayat secretary.

• Adequate and alternative means of guidance is required to be provided to the villagers

v Convenient mode of payment • Presently some of the remittances made to the panchayat by the villagers towards use of services or payment of taxes, duties, etc are done at the sub-treasury office through issuance of challan. More convenient modes of payment using cheque drop boxes, on-line payments, etc are required.

• For many of the services and schemes sought by the villagers, it is observed that villagers are required to interface with revenue department officials for key documents like income certificate, caste certificate, ration card application and update, etc , which, as expressed by villagers may have created an additional dependency and is a source of potential delay

• An initiative is taken in Chittoor district, where it is proposed that some of the essential services of the revenue department will be provided through RSDP/AP online centers in the district. It is expected to be a welcome change for the citizens and with the ePRI objective of making even panchayat services online, the hassle of multiple visits to multiple offices and the delay in applying for and seeking other



services and benefits could be reduced significantly. While the CSCs would be required in larger numbers in the state to cover all the villages, the villages should consider developing local entrepreneurial capability for availing this avenue. For example, considering the large number of SHG groups in C. Gollapalle and their economic sustenance and their role as a key agent of reforms in the villages today, they could be the potential candidates to undertake CSC services in the village thus in turn benefiting the villagers.

• It is observed that the awareness of the services offered by Gram panchayat by the villager is experiential and need based, that is, not until the service is required. There is no prior awareness of the services which may lead to delay in receipt of some other service or benefit from some other agency.

• The study also brings to light the issue of lack of awareness amongst many villagers on participatory role of the villagers along with PRI representatives in the village development. The objective and concept of decentralized planning, wherein villagers participate and collectively own the responsibility of development of the village may not have had the outreach that was expected. It was observed through the gram sabhas conducted in the selected districts that the idea of villagers contributing to the identification, planning and successful implementation of village development works and not perceiving themselves as merely the recipient of benefits has not been satisfactorily realized. The reasons, as observed during the interaction, vary from failed attempts of communication from the panchayat officials and members; to limited attendance in gram sabha by the villagers due to their preoccupation with their daily priorities during the daytime; to absence of exercise for prior identification of works collectively even at ward level before the commencement of gram Sabha.

b. Information needs of the Gram Panchayat

List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State A Information Needs A1 Planning & Budgeting i Prior notification of priority subjects for

BRGF Planning • Priority sectors finalized by the State Government

and DPC for the BRGF may not be communicated to the Gram panchayat in a timely manner..

ii Integration of Annual planning with budgeting

• The budgeting is done mostly independent of any planning exercise by the Panchayat secretaries and staff.

• The budgeting exercise is essentially allocation of funds as per the guidelines for various subjects.

• No indication of works identified are provided for the budgeted amount

• There is a need for “event-based” budgeting to take



List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State into account exigencies such as drought

iii Notification on periodic changes in budgeting and allocation guidelines

• The same is communicated to Panchayat secretary through circular or govt. orders. While there were no challenges expressed, the same could be provided online within the system in future in timely manner

iv Validation of budget drafts • As the budget preparation is manual, the validation and verification of budget draft is time-consuming (across all tiers of PRI).

• Ground-level feasibility and real field-level situation should be taken into account while validating the budget

• Online validation and controls for budget preparation as per rules and guidelines could be provided at the time of budget preparation

I Easy generation and submission of periodic reports to ZP and MP

• Current reporting is done manually which requires importing data from registers and forms into a separate form

ii Visibility of works planned by other departments for the planning period

• There is no integration of the works planned/ identified by line department and PR department, which leads to duplication in works planned for the current or next fiscal year.

A2 Implementation, Monitoring & Reporting i Integration of receipts and expenditures

with annual budget • All operating activities incurring financial

transactions (receipts and expenditures) are not readily linked to the budget to provide a real-time view and monitoring of the actual versus budgeted

ii Job Chart and checklist for routine check-ups related to Water chlorination, Cleaning of drains and roads, Sanitation of Schools and eating houses, etc

• The information is maintained in job sheets which may not be recorded at the end of day for reporting either to higher tiers of PRI or line departments (e.g., to Rural Water Supply Department on chlorination measurements)

Iii Status of work progress and completion of works identified

• Shelf of works created as part of planning is not updated with the status of work progress on a timely basis



List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State iv

Information on events/initiatives of other agencies (village level or otherwise) to be made available with Panchayat Office

• GP is expected to facilitate and monitor events/programmes like Immunization, health camps, etc and monitor their effectiveness, but in reality the information as captured by the respective agencies is not always shared with Panchayat office

v

Information exchange between Panchayat and other village level organizations

• Since all village level organizations like VRO, VO, Adarsh Raithu, ANM, School Management, etc cater to the same captive audience in the village, it is important that information maintained on the villagers for their respective service be available with all stakeholders, especially with the Panchayat Office. Very little of stated information is shared with Panchayat posing a challenge to addressing the grievances and disputes of the villagers during the forums like gram sabha.

A3 Schemes

i

Beneficiary Database - Information on Schemes and beneficiaries in the village for all schemes to check for coverage, duplication, and abuse.

• Panchayats today do not have adequate information about beneficiaries targeted under different schemes such as NHRM, SSA, NHM, Scholarships scheme from SC Welfare and BC welfare.

ii

Early notification of schemes so that identification of beneficiaries can be done exhaustively and scheme lapse can be avoided

• In order to ensure comprehensive and well planned beneficiary selection, schemes should be notified well in advance

iii Information on payments/ utilization of benefits

• No Information available with gram panchayat on transfer of benefits to the intended recipients and issues thereof

A4 Services Related i. Villager Information Database - A

comprehensive and up to date information database of villagers - Names, family members, occupation, caste, house number, property, education, scheme benefits, dues history, history of services received

• Presently, the information is not formally recorded for easy retrieval or access. Any change in villager profile, for example, moving out of the village, may not be instantly recorded or available with Panchayat office



List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State through panchayat

ii. Proper guidelines for certain services • It was noted that the there are no proper guidelines provided to Panchayat Secretary for providing Valuation certificate for buildings which requires a defined and systematic means of assessment in term of estimating the useful value of the building and assessing prevailing market rates.

• Panchayat secretary may end up adopting his own assessment or act under pressure from the citizen to quote high value, as noted in Garladinne

iii. Timely updates on changes in policy (amendment of legislation, new ZP or MPP directive, etc) for any service

• Any changes in surcharge, cess, etc on any of the services (e.g. water tap connection) would require updates in the demand register

A5 Development i An up-to-date Spatial Information

Database such as Mapping of non-movable assets like OH tanks, village roads, houses, agricultural land, poramboke, pipelines, street lights, etc

• Identification and justification of works under BRGF to higher tiers of PRI are currently limited by the non-availability of information on accurate topography and geographical information on the village habitat

ii Easy retrieval of information about all works in the past to categorize works - sector wise, region/ward wise, BRGF-Non BRGF, etc to act an inputs for planning and prioritization of new works

• Shelf of works is maintained in manual registers making it difficult to locate and retrieve past works. Record of BRGF works undertaken since 2008 is maintained online through PlanPlus and is easily accessible.

iii Capturing of reasons for deviations in execution of works, if any - Technical Design, timelines, budget, etc as part of utilization

• Not being done currently. As stated by the panchayat officials, the utilization certificate prepared covers only the financial summary without any reasons for deviations

iv Individual or community feedback and complaints on works being undertaken and link to specific work in the shelf of works for the purpose of reporting and causal/ detailed analysis of history of such complaints as inputs for planning and to engineering line departments

• Currently feedback from citizens is received mainly verbally during the gram sabha and the same even if recorded is not always used as an input for planning for next year



List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State A6 Record Keeping

i Easy look up and retrieval of all information captured in registers

• All registers are manually prepared and are not available online

ii Instant verification of entry made in register by second person to address errors if any

• Manual verification of every entry is not done as a mandatory activity

iii

Modifications of any entry in the register should be logged with signature and time for the purpose of security and traceability

• Change details, change history, person making the changes are not formally recorded

Iv Computerized accounting to link multiple registers digitally

• This is a problem especially in accounts where multiple records related to billing and receipts exist and need to be manually checked / updated which is susceptible to error

v Easy access to information about existing and planned assets in Gram

• It has been noted that in most panchayats, asset registers are not maintained regularly. These are maintained in the manual format, and are usually not referred while planning new assets.

A7 Others i Easy maintenance and retrieval of

details on Gram Panchayat Staff, establishment and asset-related information

• Currently maintained in manual registers

B Services Needs B1 As recipient of G2G service from other line departments i Notification on Mutation of property from

sub-registrar at the time of re-registration

• The GP relies on the citizen to approach panchayat office for a change of name in demand register for payment of house taxes

ii Integration with line (Engineering) Department for feasibility, design and implementation of works identified in development plan

• Currently it requires physical movement of files, and status of file and missing ground-level information, if any, cannot be tracked real-time

iii Online receipt of approval and observations on layouts from Director, Town & Country Planning

• Currently it entails manual transfer of files



List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State B2 As provider of G2G service to other line departments i Online provision of No Objection

Certificate for electricity connection • Currently it entails manual transfer of files

ii Online submission of list of beneficiaries • Currently it entails manual transfer of files iii Online Integration with line (or PR

engineering) department on process workflow for feasibility, design, implementation, progress reporting and work completion report of works identified in development plan

• Currently it requires physical movement of files and status of file and missing information if any cannot be tracked real-time

iv Online recommendation and submission of layout to Director, Town & Country Planning


v Integrated planning, implementation and reporting of works identified under schemes like NREGS and Watershed Development Programmes


Key observations:

• As observed in the Information & Service needs of Citizen, the panchayat office is a key point of interface the villagers desire to maintain going forward. However, with the proposed clustering of minor gram panchayats with one panchayat secretary for around two to three villages may impact the proximity to the villager. Hence the needs of the panchayat as mentioned above will further become stronger in future and enabling service delivery through better process and IT capability could become imperative.

• While gram sabha is the key forum to enable decentralized planning, it is observed that today the panchayat officials and elected members are ill-equipped to manage such a large audience on a focused agenda. Smaller units of audience may be required to undertaken a series of forums to create a more fruitful dialogue on planning.

• Lack of institutionalized and system driven service delivery has resulted in panchayat secretary to act under the influence/pressure of the citizen or by his own discretion in offering a service as noticed in case of issuance of house/building Valuation certificate. Clarity and controls could help address such deviations in service delivery.

• The elected members of the Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Secretary felt that there is a strong need for the village level organizations – Panchayat, VRO, VO, ANM, Anganwaadi, School Head Master, Adarsh Raithu, etc to work closely with each and share the information they maintain about the



villagers. Common, accurate, and current database on villager information shall go a long way in helping each of these individual units at the village level and providing vital inputs for planning and policy making at higher levels.

c. Information needs of the mandal parishad

List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State A Information Needs A1 Planning & Budgeting i Prior notification of priority subjects for

BRGF Planning • Presently, the BRGF planning is done based on the

works that Panchayat along with villagers identify at Gram level, and works covering multiple panchayats are identified at Mandal level. However, the same may undergo a change if the DPC meeting held at district headquarters provides priority to other sector.

ii Easy and Instant access to Gram plans and quicker consolidation

• Currently the MPDO has to wait for each panchayat to submit their respective plans before viewing the same and initiating consolidation thus contributing to high lead time in preparation of Mandal Plan

• Staff at mandal level needs to be trained on PlanPlus in order to consolidate plans and articulate their area needs better

iii Instant communication of changes in planning guidelines

• In case of changes in planning guidelines, such as changes in priority subjects, paper-based communication takes time and may affect planning of Gram Panchayats who may have already planned and identified the works by conducting gram sabha

iv Spatial information for viewing works undertaken in the mandal

• Currently the shelf of works submitted by mandal and gram panchayats does not provide clarity on the location and topographical profile of the place with indications of existing assets, infrastructure, and regional view of the demography. The spatial information could help in taking informed decisions on finalizing the works.

v Easy access to Audit findings for Gram Panchayats

• Currently the same is stored in physical files and not easily accessible



Vi Integration of planning with budgeting • Presently, planning for Non-BRGF works is not undertaken

• The budgeting exercise is essentially allocation of funds as per the guidelines for various subjects. The Budget lacks higher detailing.

vii Integrated planning with line departments • Scheme-related data needs to be available at mandal level to review progress and prepare future plans

A2 Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting i Instant notification of commencement of

works at gram panchayats • Notifications regarding the works may happen only

in the limited time available in monthly meetings. Thus many work related issues remain unattended.

• Online updates for the work done would provide opportunity to deal with the issues in the monthly meetings.

ii Real-time or periodic updates on physical and financial progress of the works undertaken at gram level

• Currently the progress update happens only during monthly meetings.

• Currently the shelf of works created as part of planning at gram level is not updated with the status of work progress on a timely basis

Iii Information about routine tasks of the staff at gram panchayat and MP

• The information is maintained in manual registers which is not available for monitoring by MPDO and DLPO on real-time basis. The same are reviewed mostly during the physical inspections

Iv Integration of financial transactions with works in the plan

• All operating activities incurring financial transactions (receipts and expenditures) are not readily linked to the budget or plan to provide a real-time view and monitoring of the actual versus budgeted

v Information about routine tasks of the staff at gram panchayat and MP

• The information is maintained in manual registers which is not available for monitoring by MPDO and DLPO on real-time basis. The same are reviewed mostly during the physical inspections

vi Calendar of inspections and notifications / reminders of the inspections to be carried

• Not all inspections are currently being undertaken

vii Information of taxes and other sources of • There is no real-time access to this information



revenue viii Information on MP receipts and expenditure

and all account entries for all periods • Information for a specific period needs to be

manually computed based on individual entries made in the books

ix Easy access to resolutions/directives of various committees at gram level and information on their meetings and attendance

• Currently not many committees are active. A report of committee proceedings and absence thereof could provide the required follow-up and enforcement

x Easy generation and submission of periodic reports to ZP

• Currently reporting is done manually which requires importing data from registers and forms into a separate form

A3 Schemes i Beneficiary Database - Information on

Schemes and beneficiaries in the mandal for all schemes to check for coverage, duplication and abuse

• Panchayats today do not have adequate information about the beneficiaries targeted under schemes such as NRHM, SSA/RVM, NHM, Scholarships scheme from SC Welfare and BC welfare

ii Information on payments/ utilization of benefits

• Currently there is no information available with gram panchayat on transfer of benefits to the intended recipients and issues thereof for many schemes

iii Real-time monitoring of implementation of various schemes (of other line departments) at Mandal level

• Inter-department co-ordination and liaising with gram panchayats for collection of information on beneficiary identification, flow of funds and utilization monitoring need to be improved

A4 Services Related i Mandal-level Citizen Information Database –

A comprehensive and up to date information database on citizens across all villages in the mandal - Names, family members, occupation, caste, house number, property, education, dues history, history of services received through panchayats, etc

• Presently, the information is not formally recorded for easy retrieval or access.

ii Information on services offered by gram panchayats and the degree of adherence to service levels

• No information is currently being captured for the same

iii Services regarding which there are recurring complaints to assess gaps in service delivery

• There is no information captured currently for the same



A5 Development i An up-to-date Spatial Information Database -

Mapping of key assets created, demographic profile, etc at Mandal level

• Identification and justification of works under BRGF to higher tiers of PRI is currently limited by the non-availability of information on accurate topography and geographical information on the village habitat

ii Easy retrieval of information for all works in the past to categorize works - sector wise, region/ward wise, BRGF-Non BRGF, etc to act an inputs for planning and prioritization of new works

• All shelves of works are maintained in manual registers making it difficult to locate and retrieve past works undertaken prior to 2008

iii Capturing of reasons for deviations in execution of works, if any - Technical Design, timelines, budget, etc as part of utilization certificate


A6 Record Keeping i Easy look up and retrieval of all information

captured in all registers at mandal and gram level

• All registers are manually prepared in books and are not available online


• Manual verification of every entry is not currently done as a mandatory activity

iii Easy access to information about existing and planned assets in MP office as well as all GPs in the mandal

• It has been noted that in most panchayats, asset registers are not regularly maintained. These are maintained in the manual format, and are usually not referred while planning new assets.

A7 Establishment & Others i Easy maintenance and retrieval of details on

Gram Panchayat Staff and establishment related information

• Currently maintained manually in registers

ii Easy access and retrieval of Acts, Rules and regulations

• It is a challenge currently to access the most current act and amendments even within PR department

B Services Needs i Integrated planning for schemes at Mandal

level with other line departments where MPDO is the executive agency

• Integrated planning with line departments is lacking; MPDO’s role is restricted to that of the executing agency

As recipient of G2G service from other line departments



i Online provision of list of scheme beneficiaries to program officers of line departments at mandal level


ii Online Integration with line (engineering department) as part of TAG for feasibility assessment, design and implementation of works identified in development plan

• Currently it requires physical movement of files and status of file and missing information, if any cannot be tracked real-time

Key Observations

• As MPDO is also the executive agency for grounding of several schemes of other line departments, it is felt that MPDO is often under the lot of burden of executing or co-coordinating multiple tasks simultaneously. Hence creating those enablers through IT and process setup for better collaboration with external and internal stakeholders could significantly help ease the pressure from MPDO for delivering his or her duties. Also, there is limited staff available at the mandal level and, in addition, they lack knowledge about office procedures, which increases the dependency on MPDO and people at higher levels.

• The success of NREGS software (RAGAS) as a tool for planning and collaboration between two departments for implementation of the scheme at the lowest level has created a case of similar enablers for other schemes. Instead of waiting for other line departments to develop their own application and burden MPs with using multiple tools for various schemes, PRI could possibly take the initiative of developing a generic but flexible scheme management application for the benefit of all

• There is a lot of pressure on the mandal computer center given the limited infrastructure; more infrastructure is required to make MPs more effective in scheme and non-scheme governance

• The Technical Advisory Committee’s role in assessing the feasibility of works identified should be extended to non-BRGF works too.

d. Information needs of the Zilla Parishad

List of Needs & Expectations Gaps/Challenges in Current State A Information Needs A1 Planning & Budgeting i Interactive forum with line departments and

other panchayat tiers for planning discussion • Currently planning discussions are confined to DPC

meetings and occasional meetings between line department and ZP representatives

• Works get implemented under a variety of grants due to lack of integrated planning. This disrupts original plans if tasks originally planned under a certain grant have already been executed as part of



another grant. Such duplication and misallocation of funds can be avoided through integrated planning with other line departments.

ii Easy and instant access to mandal plans and quicker consolidation

• Mandal plans are manually received at the district level. Reviewing and consolidating these plans consumes time and delays the preparation of ZP plan

iii Easy and quick consolidation of completion of works at Mandal and gram level for preparing UC

• Currently done manually which is time-consuming

iv Online update on the meeting proceedings of DPC and standing committees

• The meeting minutes are recorded manually and action items are followed up manually which is not often very effective

v Spatial information for viewing works undertaken in the district

• Currently the shelf of works submitted by mandal and gram panchayats does not provide clarity on the location and topographical profile of the place with indications of existing assets, infrastructure, and regional view of the demography. The spatial information could help in taking informed decisions on finalizing the works.

A2 Implementation, Monitoring and Reporting i Information about routine tasks of the staff at

MP and ZP • The information is maintained in manual registers

which is not available for monitoring by CEO and DPO on real-time basis. The same are reviewed mostly during the physical inspections

ii Information on receipts and expenditure at Mandal level

• Currently such information needs to be manually computed based on individual entries made in the books

iii Easy access to resolutions/directives of various committees at Mandal level and information on their meetings and attendance

• Currently not many committees are active. A report of committee proceedings and absence thereof could provide the required follow-up and enforcement

iv Easy generation and submission of periodic reports to State PR Dept

• Currently reporting is done manually which requires importing data from registers and forms into a separate form



A3 Schemes and Services i Beneficiary Database - Information on

Schemes and beneficiaries in the district for all schemes to check for coverage, duplication and abuse

• Panchayats today do not have adequate information about the beneficiaries targeted under schemes such as NRHM, SSA/RVM, NHM, Scholarships scheme from SC Welfare and BC welfare

ii Real-time monitoring of implementation of various schemes (of other line departments) at ZP level

• Inter-department co-ordination and with gram panchayats for collection of information on beneficiary identification, flow of funds and utilization monitoring can be improved

iii District-level Citizen Information Database - A comprehensive and up to date information database on citizens across all villages in the district- Names, family members, occupation, caste, house number, property, education, dues history, history of services received through panchayats, etc

• Presently, the information is not formally recorded for easy retrieval or access.

iv Information on services offered by gram panchayats and the degree of adherence to service levels

• No information is currently being captured for the same

v Services regarding which there are recurring complaints to assess gaps in service delivery

• There is no information captured currently for the same

A4 Development i An up-to-date Spatial Information Database

- Mapping of key assets created, demographic profile, etc at district level

• Identification and justification of works under BRGF are currently limited by the non-availability of information on accurate topography and geographical information on the village habitat

ii Easy retrieval of information of works done in the past to categorize works - sector wise, region/ward wise, BRGF-Non BRGF, etc to act as inputs for planning and prioritization of new works

• All shelf of works are maintained in manual registers making it difficult to locate and retrieve past works undertaken prior to 2008

iii Capturing of reasons for deviations in execution of works, if any - Technical Design, timelines, budget, etc as part of utilization certificate


A5 Record Keeping



i Easy look up and retrieval of all information captured in all registers at mandal and gram level

• All registers are manually prepared in books and are not available online


• Manual verification of every entry is not currently done as a mandatory activity

Iii Easy access to information about existing and planned assets in ZP office as well as all MPs and GPs in the district

• It has been noted that in most panchayats, asset registers are not maintained regularly. These are maintained in the manual format, and are usually not referred while planning new assets.

A6 Establishment & Others i Easy maintenance and retrieval of details on

PRI staff and establishment related information

• Currently maintained as manual registers

ii Consolidated view of employee information along with information on PF and other payroll information for entire panchayat staff

• PF is maintained in a separate online system while the rest of the information is maintained in manual registers

iii Information on training history of employees at all levels

• The same is partly maintained at respective tier and partly with APARD, Extension Training Centers, and District Training Cell.

• There is a need for a consolidated view of training history of all employees to made available at District Training Cell

B Services Needs B1 As recipient of G2G service from other line departments i Integrated planning of works with line

departments • Action Plan (BRGF Plan) requires lot of interaction,

review, and information exchange before finalization. There is no set workflow across departments and currently the manual transfer of files is time-consuming

• There is a need for integrated planning for non-BRGF works too

B2 As provider of G2G service to other line departments i Integration with line (engineering

department) as part of TAG for feasibility assessment, design and implementation of works identified in development plan

• Currently it requires physical movement of files and status of file and missing information, if any cannot be tracked real-time



Key Observations

• While there is strong emphasis on monitoring and development planning through BRGF at Zilla level, there is a need for paying more attention on service delivery at grass root level by ZP. It is important that an assessment of current service delivery in terms of meeting the stated expectations of the citizens is made and that may require dialogue at district administration level with other line departments to integrate service delivery at gram level covering services of multiple departments

• Updates from the lower level of PRIs are not regular and timely and thus there is a need to strengthen the mechanism for timely updates for the works executed and the services offered and issues faced in providing the same.

e. Information needs of the state PR and line departments

Stakeholder Challenges / Issues Expectations from ePRI AP Panchayati Raj Department

1. Lack of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities as enshrined in the GOs issued by the government.

2. Poor participation by PRIs in governance and scheme implementation at the grass roots level

3. Lack of awareness of roles, responsibilities and powers

4. Low participation by minority representatives (SC/ST/women)

5. High illiteracy of elected representatives at the village level

1. Faster and more transparent budgeting, planning and decision making can be undertaken by PRIs

2. Fund flow can be tracked 3. Better information capture relating to performance

levels, development indices and gaps will enable better planning

4.Data about elected representatives, expenditure patterns, assets held, trainings conducted, scheme progress, meetings conducted and improved monitoring of employees

Education Department

1. Improved data management and information flow till the lowest level through DISE software

2. Tracking of developments in schools and status of amounts released to them

3. Generation of scheme-related awareness



Women & Child Welfare

Two government orders (41 and 42) have been issued mandating devolution of powers to PRIs but they have not been implemented yet, largely due to resistance from Anganwaadi workers

Improved monitoring of Anganwadi Centres and tracking of key indicators (MMR, IMR, SNP Coverage etc)

SC Welfare Under the Free Coaching scheme, students are selected only for a year; however some students illegally extend their stay. However, the institute has limited capacity and hence there are no vacancies for new admissions.

1. Higher transparency in scheme implementation and monitoring leading to lower corruption

2. Faster decision making, 3. Enhancement of coverage of free coaching

programs through web-based learning 4. Local data capture and management under the

scholarships scheme

Rural Development There is severe pressure on the Mandal Computer Center to regularly update details regarding progress of work, muster rolls and process timely payments

1. Entry of NREGS muster roll data at the GP level on a daily basis to improve accuracy

2. Faster and more transparent issuance of job cards, 3. Reduction of work load at Mandal computer centres

through empowerment of GPs which will reduce backlogs and delays in payment processing

4. Improved mechanism for grievance handling 5. Digitization of the multiple registers maintained at

the village level (demand for work, works undertaken, registration for job cards etc)

6. Increased visibility of village/SHG level data at GP level for other schemes (SGSY, IGNOAPS)

Sports 1. Motivating children to play is a challenge given the high priority given to education in most Indian households

2. Selecting GPs as implementing agency is

1. Increased participant pool due to more awareness and information flow

2. Raise awareness and maintain excitement about sports at local levels

3. Improved role of PRIs in promoting sports through capturing and relaying of day to day developments, showcasing of films, more interactive training,



of utmost importance and needs to be done

3. Selection of Kridashree needs to be more transparent

4. Data input is entirely manual, A comprehensive data base is required to capture details such as - Number and demographic details of participating students, number of days of training imparted, training schedule by discipline

collaborative learning services, online tips, peer learning and simulators to improve leaning and development of knowledge of sports fraternity at village level

4. Weekly progress monitoring

Rural Water Supply & Sanitation

1. Data entry at the village level itself for data pertaining to habitation-wise drinking water supply sources, distribution network and O&M, Uploading of water quality test results in order to facilitate quick remedial action in case of contamination

2. Preparation of water security plan 3. Preparation of more detailed physical monitoring

reports 4. Capturing of data relating to planning and

maintenance, household-wise data on availability of sanitation facilities, sanitation facilities in schools, condition of toilets, monitoring of toilet usage after handover, etc.

5. Preparation of proposal for the required works by MPDO or mandal officers after identification of beneficiaries at mandal level

6. Generation of public awareness regarding the TSC scheme

Engineer-in-Chief, Panchayati Raj

1. Online monitoring of PMGSY scheme 2. Data entry at mandal level to free up District Project

Implementation Unit (DPIU) for other higher value



activities

School Education Entry of data relating to Mid Day Meals scheme at GP level which will improve accuracy

Horticulture More effective planning of the NHM scheme through improved monitoring of data such as cropping patterns, list of beneficiaries, geographic areas covered etc

Key observations

• Gap in the flow of information from the state to the lower levels of PRIs needs to be bridged as there exist difference in the execution/ implementation of the schemes as planned.

5.1.2. List of services Identified for Reengineering

Besides interacting extensively with PRI officials, the project team conducted four gram sabhas in the selected major and minor gram panchayats in Anantapur and Chittoor districts, to understand and identify the service needs of the citizens and evaluate existing service delivery processes and mechanisms. Further, the services identified in the two districts were short listed based on the parameters such as: • Number of applications received in a month and a year; • Level of PRI involvement in providing the service; • Challenges faced by the citizens and PRIs in the efficient delivery of the service; and • Whether the service is mandated in the citizen charter / PRI act

Sr. No. Service

Volume of

applications

Degree of PRI

involvement

Challenges

expressed

Whether mandated

in the Citizen Charter/ PRI act

Comments

1 Registration and issuance of birth certificate

H H L Y High volumes are received and there are issues in registration with panchayat after one month of birth

2 Registration and issuance of death certificate

H H L Y High volumes are received and there are issues in registration with panchayat after one month of birth

3 Recommendation for layout

M L L Y Service is required by the applicant before seeking approval from Town and Country Planning Department

4 NOC for M M L N Lack of citizen awareness,



Electricity connection

Weaknesses in maintenance of records

5 No Dues certificate

M H L N Frequently offered service

6 Change of name in demand register (on mutation of property)

M H L Y Important service for panchayat to update the name of house owners for collection of 'House Tax', once it’s done by revenue department. Currently, citizen himself co-ordinates between the two departments to get the service.

7 Sanction of Tap connection

H H L Y Frequently offered service, There is scope for improvement as the prescribed process is not followed in Garladinne

8 Trade Licenses L H L Y Frequently offered service in major panchayat

9 Permission for Construction of Building / Approval of house building plan

L H L Y Approvals are not sought before construction due to: a) Lack of awareness b) Lack of willingness on the part of citizens to inform panchayat proactively

10 Information under the RTI Act

L H M N Lack of citizen awareness

11 Issue of job card H H L N Frequently offered service 12 Issue of Valuation

Certificate for Property

H H H N Guidelines/ Process is not clearly defined.

13 Registration and issuance of marriage certificate

M H L N Frequently offered service

14 Issuance of house ownership certificate

Service not offered in minor Panchayats.



5.2. Gap Analysis

5.2.1. PRI Internal functions

Internal Functions / Activities

ZP MP GP

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS:

1. Planning

• Action plan under BRGF (Consolidated local area planning for TFC, SFC, BRGF, General Funds and Per capita grant)

• Preparation of budget

• Compilation and scrutiny of MP budgets

• Planning for schemes such as NREGS, Pension

Annual Action Plan:

• Most line departments have their own independent planning process besides BRGF-related planning which is undertaken by the DPC; hence the concept of integrated local planning gets diluted

• Works identified at the gram sabha may be politically motivated and may not represent the genuine needs of the citizen

• Two people in the ZP office are actively involved in planning, fund disbursements, monitoring,

Annual Action Plan:

• There is lack of IT infrastructure at the mandal level.

• PlanPlus is not being used by MP offices for preparing and uploading plans due to reasons such as lack of training and connectivity issues

• Though the process encourages the participation by each tier of PR, there is lack of knowledge of prioritized sectors at the mandal and gram level as a result of which the plan prepared might not reflect the priorities identified at the district.

Budgeting:

• The Budget is prepared in either spreadsheets on computer or manually on plain paper, which is prone to data loss, versioning inconsistencies, uncontrolled access and manipulation (lack of audit trail)

• The Budget preparation and approval is manual. The process is standard with low complexity and hence is a candidate for automation.

• The budgeting process does not acknowledge or link with the identification and prioritization of works for the ensuing year to enable mid-term reviews and MIS



Scheme, Financial Assistance by SC/ST/BC welfare departments, SGSY, etc.

and review. Workload is high and there is a need for additional resources. The CPO (Chief Planning Officer) is expected to depute an Assistant Director for Planning but this has not happened yet.

Budgeting: • Budgeting process is partially

computerized. Budgets are prepared manually using MS excel. There is scope for IT enabled finance and accounting software

• Delays in submission of Annual Budget.

• Panchayat Secretaries lack thorough knowledge of the projects and works already proposed and BRGF planning process.

Budgeting: • There is no software application

developed for the budgeting process. Budgeting is either done manually or in MS excel, which sometimes leads to discrepancies.

• The budget process needs to be streamlined. Currently it a mere escalation of the revenue/ expenditure for the previous year and allocations as mandated by government.

• No actual analysis is done for the preparation of the budget in terms of required needs / works

• There is no standardized budget format in use

• There is lack of knowledge among the mandal level staff for the preparation of the budget.



Scheme Planning: • Software needs to be

developed which can track the status of applications received under various schemes.

• Except for beneficiaries identified under NREGS scheme, the list of beneficiaries under other schemes is not maintained electronically.

• All the applications are received in hard copy. Applications submitted for approval are not recorded, and thus its difficult to track the status of the applications once submitted

2. Implementation

• BRGF works • Scheme such as

NREGS, Pension Scheme, RWS, etc.

• Entrustment activity • Ensuring Drinking

water quality • Maintenance of

drinking water

BRGF:

• Process for the implementation of the works is currently not transparent.

• There is no usage of IT in monitoring of works implementation even though there is a module for monitoring in PlanPlus, the same is not being used.

Implementation of capital works:

• Process is manual. A workflow could be established between Panchayat office and line departments for work specifications and creation of tenders based on standard templates and rules

• Measurement Book could be made online with access controls and security



assets • Implementation of

capital works

• There is no defined process for reporting the cash transactions held and the utilization of the funds given under BRGF

• There is no convergence with line departments during the implementation of the works

• Except for NREGS scheme, there is no software available for any other scheme, through which works done and progress under scheme could be monitored at higher level.

Entrustment activity:

• There is no approved list of contractors finalized and endorsed by the government. MPDO selects contractor based on personal relationships

Drinking water:

• System should be developed which keeps a record of drinking water assets in the mandal and their scheduled maintenance

• Maps of existing assets and gram profile could be used to enable better works planning and avoiding work duplication and wastage of funds

• Repository of prior work specifications could be maintained online at Gram Panchayat Online for the re-using the specifications if possible for similar works in future. This may reduce process lag time, if any as incurred due to information exchange with line departments

• Asset register is not properly updated and referred to when planning for new works

• Technical Advisory Group presently on offers technical review and assistance for BRGF related works. As TAG is established formally under the purview of MPDO, their role could be extended to offer their expertise for all works instead of the current practice of Gram Panchayat reaching out to line departments for work specifications

Operation and Maintenance:



• There is no record available to keep a check on periodic maintenance of the assets created for drinking water.

• The maintenance of the assets is done, as and when a grievance is received from the citizens/ users/ villagers

• MPDO depends upon the technical staff working under RWS department for the maintenance works to be carried out. He has no administrative control over them

• The daily register and related details like readings from chlorination could be maintained online for real-time access by the higher tiers and DPO / DLPOs

• Usage of consumables like Chlorine and tracking the inventory as per the daily usage is not being done

• Technical awareness for areas like chlorination may have to be enhanced. For example, as indicated by the Joint Collector, Chlorine is provided in sacks to the Panchayat Offices; and while their daily usage is in small quantities, their useful life decreases once the sack is open and exposed to atmosphere thus reducing the effectiveness of chlorination

3. Accounting

• Preparation of periodic accounts summary statement

• Reconciliation with treasury and bank

• Preparation of

• Scope for IT enabled finance and accounting software

• The whole process from raising request to approvals and transfer of funds may be made online.

• Delays in finalization of monthly accounts

• Scope for IT enabled finance and accounting software • As per the norms separate cash book should be maintained for each

grant. However, it was noted in Garladinne MP (Anantapur) that single cash book is maintained for all the grants, except for NREGS

• Lack of IT- trained man power • Online system should be developed to update the line department

functionaries for the progress of the transfer of funds. • Pension Scheme: There are no checks available to know if the pension



salary bills of all officers and staff and honorarium bills of elected representatives

• Preparation of responses for Accountant General Audit Report and Local Fund Audit Report

• Presentation of quarterly and annual financial reports in ZP meetings

• Sanction of loans and advances to staff

• Compilation and submission of number statement of MP & ZP

• Preparation of UC • Management of

Scheme funds such as NREGS,

• Delays in preparation of monthly reconciliation statement

• Delays in responding to the audit objections primarily due to non-availability of information

• Delays in receipt of information / budget from MPs

• Delays in compilation at ZP level • The posts of Dy. CEO and AO

are vacant. CEO is Dy. CEO in-charge while an MPDO is the AO in-charge.

has reached the correct beneficiary or not. Documents prepared manually are sometimes tempered by the line department functionaries

• IKP and VO are not completely reliable for disbursing the pension amount. Since IKP and VO are independent functionaries, they are not always accountable to the MPDO



Pension Scheme, etc.

4. Monitoring and Reporting

• Financial Progress / Expenditure reporting

• Physical Progress reporting

• Preparation of Utilization Certificate (UC)

• Monitoring and review of BRGF works

• Monthly progress reporting to DlPO and DPO on GP Fund utilization, GP revenue collection, etc.

• Monitoring of Schemes

• Monitoring of welfare hostels

• Monitoring of

• Scope for IT enabled Reporting (current reports are in excel/word format), Though there is a provision to monitor progress of BRGF works in PlanPlus, it is not being used

• Release of grants gets delayed but GOI insists on timely utilization certificates

• No IT applications are used for monitoring and reporting; all reports are in excel format

• Since the status of work is maintained manually progress reports are subject to errors as one needs to refer to various documents

• A software is required, for updating and tracking the progress of different works

• Currently the UCs are prepared manually and there is a need for automating them as in the case of NREGS

• The process is manual although the report is prepared on computer. It involves extracting all the details from various registers like Demand registers to populate the report which is at many times just a mechanical tasks with little or no value add to the information. The same can hence be auto generated and then later updated by user if all the information and registers are made online.

• The process doest not have a formal workflow based approval is it is driven the physical meeting between the DPO, DlPOs and all the Panchayat Secretaries in the Mandal. However, an online workflow could established for the post meeting actions items and follow ups and closure so that only the pending items could be discussed in the next cycle.

• There exists no formal scheduled monitoring with recordings of findings other than utilization certificates in



sanitation at public places

certain cases (that only captures the usage of funds) that could be used for feedback and improvement of scheme implementations in future

• The Panchayat staff is constrained by lack of information and visibility on certain schemes as implemented by the other village level organizations

COMMON FUNCTIONS:

1. Establishment-related matters

• All service matters related to ZP staff

• Disciplinary cases • Compassionate

appointments • Transfers • Payment of salaries

to the staff • Sanction of

increments

• All the bills are prepared manually. A payroll system should be developed so that critical details such as attendance and other leaves availed could be maintained.

• The formats used for preparing the sub treasury bills should be maintained online for easy reference and record maintenance

2. Pension processing

• Sanction of

• The entire process is manual. Proposal and corresponding approvals can be automated

• In some cases, pension



pensions to employees working in the ZP office

• Payment of monthly pension to the non-provincial staff

• Payment of funeral charges to dependents of deceased employees

proposals get delayed due to time consuming process of obtaining old information about the employee

3. Provident Fund Processing • Management of PF

records • Processing of PF • Loans against PF • Withdrawal of PF

• In some cases, even if PF numbers have been allotted, subscription amounts are not being automatically deducted

• In some cases, subscription amounts are not revised automatically in line with salary increments / promotions.

• Application and processing of PF allotment numbers is manual

• Subscription amounts, once approved, should be automatically deducted through an IT-enabled payroll processing system

• Subscription amounts should be



automatically revised through IT-enabled promotion/increment-related updates to the payroll department

4. Record Management • Maintenance of

registers • Disposal of records • Archival of physical

records • Destruction of

records • File management • File numbering and

tracking • Security of records

• Most of the registers are maintained manually. These records may be computerized as retrieval will be faster and less physical storage space will be required

• All the records are manually maintained and pose the risk of being destroyed by unforeseen circumstances

• Retrieving a register in DD or RD category is tedious

• Content of the register should be uploaded on the web so that records can be easily maintained

• Register maintenance is not regularly inspected by the higher authorities

• There are no clear instructions for the numbering/referencing of the registers

• Sometime care is not taken for the physical maintenance of the registers.

• People should be trained for the maintenance of records

• Currently updating the registers

• Online document management of all key files and registers could be introduced

• No indexing/cataloging is done for registers to enable easy and quick access and retrieval of information

• Panchayats are constrained by Space for storing of registers leading to deterioration of documents

• Access to documents by staff is not clearly defined



is sole responsibility of Senior/Junior assistant. There should be more staff at the MP level for maintaining and regularly updating the registers

5. Correspondence Management

• Whole process is manual. There is scope for IT enablement

• All the correspondence should be made available online • Representation should be scanned and put in the separate folders • No regularization for the maintenance of the representation/

communications • No clear instructions on indexing the files as per the subject • File number for the same subject varies each year thus its difficult to track

any old correspondence • All paper based communications can be recorded and indexed online for

easy access an retrieval in future • People should be trained regarding the procedure of maintenance of

records/ office administration

6. Grievance Redressal • Receipt of

complaints • Closure of

complaints

• In many ZPs, there is lot delay in closure of complaints as the officials resolve the complaint only on the grievance day. No action is taken during the week.

• Grievance should be maintained online

• Representation should be indexed and numbered

• Grievance escalated should be traceable in the public domain

• Audit trail should be maintained and shared with the public

• No receipt is given to the petitioner for the representation

• Online tracking and monitoring of complaints could be provided

• No formal standardized form for complaint is available

• No acknowledge or receipt is provided by Panchayat office for grievance received

• No register is maintained for the complaints received

• Verbal complaints taken in Gram



• Representations are not indexed/ numbered and makes it difficult to track them

• Matters escalated or steps taken by MPDO are not traceable

• Line department authority are not accountable to MPDO thus they don’t reply back to MPDO for the grievance forwarded

• Political pressure is exerted for the disciplinary cases by the defaulter

Sabha but not recorded • Citizen charter is not updated to

define services levels for all types of complaints at gram level

• Panchayat Secretary at Pileru Panchayat has expressed manpower constraint in efficient and timely redressal of public grievances

7. Inventory / Asset Management • Recording of

movable and immovable assets

• All data is maintained in manual registers; there are no computerized records • At times, there are delays in updating information (receipt / disposal of assets) as a result of which record of

stock of assets held may not be correct • There is only one person responsible for the task of updating records due to which sometimes there is

inadequate focus on consistent and timely updation • Registers are maintained manually without lack of validations and controls • No coding of assets is done • Asset details/description across types of assets are not consistent in formats • Physical Verification is not done by Panchayat Staff on a more regular basis • During transfer of asset from other departments, Only an entry is made in asset register, useful value of asset is

not recorded • Asset Register is not regularly updated in case of permanent assets after completions of works • Schedule for periodic maintenance of assets are either not maintained or not linked with asset register thus not



enabling a single view of information on assets • No role is defined and assigned for physical verification of assets

8. Conducting monthly visits in the mandal to assess development activities • Organizing camps

in the villages to assess the needs of villagers

• Visiting institutions such as AWC, Schools etc in the mandal

• Findings are recorded manually and not shared with the other staff members or concerned officials

• System should be developed so that the diary can be maintained online and accessible in the public domain

• System should be developed to provide a linkage between the works suggested in the MPDO diary with the works proposed for various government funds sanctioned to the mandal

• No review is undertaken by officials at higher levels to check whether the camps / visits are being conducted as planned

• Compensatory allowance of Rs. 3,500/- provided to MPDO for conducting the camps and visiting the institutes does not reach him and is utilized by MPP.



• MPDO should be trained before he is sent to mandal for carrying out his duties, as he is not aware of his duties

9. Information Dissemination • Related to the

schemes • Other Government

activities

• All the correspondence for the information dissemination currently happens manually and is not recorded online.

• There are no follow up action if the information was disseminated timely

• Many a times, the information disseminated by MPDO through circulars and notices does not reach citizens

Awareness of schemes: • Information on Scheme benefits,

mode of delivery and eligibility for application should be made available in an concise and easy-to-use formats to citizen in local language

Awareness of Services: • Although several modes are used,

the information dissemination on services not as vigorous as that of schemes and not done on a periodic basis.

• The citizen get to know about the services only when there is a personal need and sometime through word of mouth

• Citizen charter for services are not updated and localized for the panchayats as was mandated

• Outbreak of diseases: • The Panchayat office does not

always receive early notifications based on incidents in other or nearby



regions in order to take preventive/proactive action

9. Collecting revenues • Lease / rents /

auctions • GP Taxes and fees: • Assessment • Issuance of

Collection Notice • Collection • Issuance of

penalties

• All the records are maintained and managed manually which makes the process tedious and sometimes resulting in discrepancies and defaults in verification of account

Assessment: • Preparation of time-bound registers

like Demand Register is done manually every year and is time consuming with no specific value add from the person performing the function. The same can be automated and computation , carry forward of arrears if any could be automated

• Issuance of Collection Notice: • Online generation and

issuance/printing of notices could be considered

• Delivery could be done by email if requested by citizen or could be made available for access at panchayats website

• Options for convenient payment of arrears could be considered – in installments with interests, bulk payment, etc.

Collection: • Online reconciliation of collection

was demand from a household could



be done to avoid any manual errors while collection and review

• Other modes of payment allowing Citizen to pay on their own could be encouraged (e.g. at treasury, at drop boxes in banks, online payments)

• Water charges presently are not as per consumption but have a common fixed rate for every household

• Issuance of penalties: • Manual generation of notices at

Gram Panchayat office can be automated.

• Household profiling for default of payments in history could be made online for more focused and early follow-ups.

• Gram Sabha sanctions, peer pressure could be adopted for regular defaulters

10. Conducting meetings • General body

meetings • Review meetings

• Minutes should be maintained on the web and should be accessible to all • No action is taken for the personnel for not attending the meetings • Minutes of the meetings are not reviewed • Communication gap for discussing the agenda for the meeting exists between MPP and MPDO • Action points agreed in meeting should be followed up in the next meeting and tracked • Meetings are not regularly attended by the line department officials



5.2.2. Service Delivery

5.2.2.1. Sanction of private water tap connection

Service objective: Timely provision of sanction for Private Water Tap Connection from nearest water distribution channel i. Process Narration – Snapshot (Ananatapur district)

Sanction of Private Tap Connection (Anantapur)

Process Owner

Gram Panchayat Primary Actors (PR Officials, Citizen, etc.)

Secondary Actors (Non – PR, Other Agencies if any, Line departments)

Sarpanch, Ward Members, Panchayat Secretary, Waterman, Citizen

NA

Process Input Process Output

• Verbal request • Tap connection • Miscellaneous Receipt (MR)

Service Delivery Time Prescribed delivery time (if any): 30 days (as per Citizen Charter) Actual delivery time: 7-8 working days

Documents Involved

Registers • Cash Book • Miscellaneous Receipt (MR) Book

Format • NA

Legal documents (if service is mandated) • NA

Others • NA



ii. Process Narration (Anantapur District)

Step Activity Channel Documents Involved

Mode Responsibility Gaps / Issues Improvement Opportunities Technology Process People

1 Citizen requests Sarpanch / Ward Members verbally for tap connection

At GP Office

NA Verbal Citizen No application in writing is submitted by the citizen • Since last

month, Sarpanch has started requesting citizen to submit the application, but the same is still not followed consistently.

• Written / online application should be made compulsory to capture the request and to enable timely escalation

2 Sarpanch / Ward Members decide whether to give private tap connection to the applicant

At GP Office

NA Verbal Sarpanch / Ward Member (Elected Representatives)

• No inward entry register is maintained

• Formal process is not followed

PS is not involved in the process

• Waterman should conduct on-site diligence to check for existing connections and source feasibility

• Approval should be granted after waterman’s report

The decision should be communicated to Water man / Citizen through PS





• Details should be recorded (name, address, water source etc)

3 If the decision is not in favour of citizen, Sarpanch / Ward Member rejects the request and the process stops

At GP Office


• No formal communication is made to the citizen

• Citizen may be formally informed along with the reason / rationale of rejection

4 If the decision is in favour of citizen, Sarpanch / Ward Member gives verbal consent to Waterman to fix the tap connection

At GP Office


• Decision and communication is not documented

• Decision is not based on the water availability

• Rationale behind the decision and relevant communication to the citizen may be properly documented

• The decision to allot more private water tap connections should be





based on the technical study of water availability

5 Waterman provides the tap connection and requests citizen to pay the fees

At GP Office

NA Manual Waterman (GP Office staff)

• Connection is provided before receipt of the tap fees

• Applicable tap fees may be collected before the connection is fixed

6 Citizen makes payment for the fees in cash

At GP Office

NA Manual Citizen • Alternative payment modes and channels may be made available to improve citizen convenience

7 PS updates the cash book by entering the details

At GP Office

Cash Book Manual Secretary • Cash Book is maintained manually

• No reconciliation done between the fees collected and no. of

Books of Accounts may be computerized

• Periodic reconciliation may be prepared between the fees collected and the connections provided to identify the amount recoverable





connections provided for a period

from the citizen

8 PS issues the Misc. Receipt (MR) to the citizen for the amount received

At GP Office

Miscellaneous Receipt (MR)

Manual Secretary • MR is prepared manually

MR may be printed from computer directly using accounting software

9 Citizen collects the MR. Process ends with citizen obtaining the MR from GP office.

GP Office

Miscellaneous Receipt (MR)

Manual Citizen



iii. Process Map (Ananatapur)



iv. Process Narration – Snapshot (Chittoor district) Sanction of Private Tap Connection (Chittoor)

Process Owner

Gram Panchayat

Primary Actors (PR Officials, Citizen, etc.)

Secondary Actors (Non – PR, Other Agencies if any, Line departments)

Panchayat Secretary, Waterman, Citizen

NA


• Hand written application on plain paper

• Tap connection • Miscellaneous Receipt (MR)

Service Delivery Time

Prescribed delivery time (if any): 30 days (as per Citizen Charter)

Actual delivery time: 7 - 8 day

Documents Involved

Registers • Cash book • Miscellaneous Receipt (MR) Book

Format • NA

Legal documents (if service is mandated)

• NA

Others • NA



v. Process Narration (Chittoor District)

Step Activity Channel Documents Involved Mode Responsibility Gaps / Issues Improvement Opportunities

Technology Process People 1 Citizen

submits hand written application on plain paper

At GP Office

Application on plain paper

Manual Citizen No standard Application form in use

An additional mode of applying i.e., online application, may also be made available to the citizen

2 PS receives the application physically

At GP Office

Application Manual Secretary • Application might get tampered or lost

• No inward entry register is maintained

Details should be entered in a computerized database

Applications received / Inward entry register should be maintained and the acknowledgement of the same should be given to the citizen in writing with a reference number

3 If the tap connection is not sanctioned based on non-availability of sufficient water, PS rejects the

At GP Office

Application Manual Secretary




Technology Process People application

4 If the tap connection is sanctioned, PS informs citizen to pay the fees

At GP Office

NA Verbal Secretary

5 Citizen makes payment for the fees in cash or through DD / Challan

At GP Office

NA Manual Citizen Fee structure is different both the grams under study. In Gollapalle, the private tap connection fee is Rs. 500. While in Garladinne, it’s Rs. 3,500 per tap connection + Rs. 240 as non-refundable deposit + Rs. 50 as Petty Supervisory Charges

The fees structure may be standardized.

6 PS updates the cash book by entering the details

At GP Office

Cash Book Manual Secretary Cash Book is maintained manually

Books of Accounts may be computerized

7 PS issues At GP Miscellaneous Manual Secretary MR is prepared MR may be




Technology Process People the Misc. Receipt (MR) to the citizen for the amount received

Office Receipt (MR) manually printed from computer directly using accounting software

8 PS requests Waterman to fix the tap connection

At GP Office

NA Verbal Secretary Order and Communication are not documented

PS may issue a formal order to Waterman and the communication may be documented

9 Waterman fixes the tap connection. Process ends with citizen getting tap connection

At GP Office

NA Manual Waterman



vi. Process map- (Chittoor)

Pan

chay

at S

ecre

tary

(PS

)W

ater

Man

Citi

zen



vii. Gap Analysis Technology Process

● Standardization of service request through pre-designed form with a serial number and a check-list of supporting documentation is absent Application, being in hard format, might get tampered or lost. Villagers have indicated that many a times they have re-applied for a service as the Panchayat officials could not trace the previous application.

● Records are maintained and updated manually affecting easy traceability and change control

● Certificate / NOC / Permission Order are prepared manually

● In some grams, even verbal requests are accepted ● In case of rejection, no written communication stating the reasons for

rejection is given to citizen ● Fees structure differs significantly from gram to gram ● Decision for sanction of private water tap is not made based on the water

availability. Since it is a basic need, generally all applications are sanctioned.

● In some cases, connection is provided before receipt of the tap fees e.g., in Garladinne GP (Anantapur).

● No reconciliation done between the fees collected and no. of connections provided for a period

● Order and Communication to Waterman to fix the tap connection are not formally documented

● There is no formal procedure for the Waterman to close the process. ● Acceptance of an application for a service is not formally recorded by the

Panchayat office. An acknowledgement and facility to track the status are also not provided.

● Outward Register, for capturing delivery of service, is not maintained and acknowledgement from citizen is not obtained as confirmation for delivery of certificate / permission order expect for in case of RTI and Job cards related queries



5.2.2.2. Inclusion of name in Voters’ list & issue of Voter ID card

Service objective: Accepting the application for updation of voter's ID card and forwarding it to the concerned line department for

processing and issuance of voter's ID card

i) Process snapshot Application for Inclusion in Voters’ List & Issuance of Voter ID Cards Process Owner

Office of Tahsildar / MRO (Mandal Revenue Officer)

Primary Actors Secondary Actors

Citizen, Revenue officials


● Application, Photographs, Supporting documents (like residence proof and age proof)

● Revised Voters’ List


Prescribed delivery time (if any): As per notification issued and dates announced by state government

Actual delivery time: As per dates announced by state government

Documents Involved

Registers ● Voters’ List

Format ● Prescribed application form (Form No 6)

Legal documents (if service is mandated) ● NA

Others ● Residence proof, age proof, two photographs



ii) Process narration

Step Activity Channel Documents involved Mode Responsibility Gaps /

Issues Improvement Opportunities

Technology Process People 1 Citizen fills

up the hardcopy application form (Form No 6)

At Revenue office, village booths

Application form along with residence proof, age proof and photographs as attachments

Manual/Online Citizen Online Application

2 Revenue officer receives the form physically and provides receipt to citizen

At Revenue office, village booths

Application Manual Revenue official

3 Deputed official (VRO/RI) undertakes inquiry and verification by visiting citizen at his/her residence

At citizen residence

Manual Village Revenue Officer (VRO) or Revenue Inspector (RI)

Time-consuming exercise

4 Deputed official (VRO/RI) recommends

At Revenue office

- Manual VRO/RI Approx 1% of applications are spurious



citizen name for inclusion or rejection

5 Tahsildar office staff update details in computerized database and generate revised voters’ list

At Revenue Office

- Manual



iii) Process map



5.2.3. Capacity

Capacity is the ability to perform designated tasks through a well defined organization structure and availability of adequate and efficient manpower. Gap analysis for the existing capacity is done with respect to: a. PR organization structure – PRIs represent local self government, primarily responsible for

development activities and for catering to the needs of people at district, mandal and gram level. Besides this, they also need to coordinate with other related organizations for the execution of works, while managing the internal administrative activities. Thus following aspects are considered to assess the PR organization structure:

• Scheme / Project / Development oriented • Citizen / Services oriented • Internal administration oriented

b. Manpower – Availability of adequate manpower is essential to carry out the defined roles and responsibilities at each hierarchical level. The assessment for manpower is done in regard to following aspects:

• Current vacancies • Number of posts identified for each category • Additional categories required

c. Skills – Further, it is important that manpower available in an organization has the requisite skills and knowledge to execute their responsibilities effectively and efficiently. Thus this section analyses the skills required for executing the given tasks and the challenges currently faced by PR officials,

Framework adopted for the capacity assessment can thus be represented as follows:

Figure 3: Capacity Assessment

Capacity assessment

Organization structure Manpower / Staff Skills

Project/scheme oriented

Administration oriented

Existing posts

Desired new posts Desired skills Training

required

Vacancies Additional requirement

Citizen Service oriented



5.2.3.1. Organizational Structure

i. District level

Figure 4: Organization structure – ZP

Scheme / Project oriented: • At district level, PR officials have to monitor and supervise scheme and non scheme related works.

However, in the current organization structure, there is no separate section for supervising the works executed in the district, mandal or gram. CEO monitors the progress of works in general body meetings, review meetings or committee meetings.

• There is no technical support / guidance available with PR to assess the reports prepared by line departments and PR officials have limited say over fund utilization or planning.

Administration oriented:

• Activities of a similar nature (such as those related to accounts) are distributed among different sections which may result in sub-optimal utilization of skills and resources. For instance Section K and Section B that respectively deals with Pensions and Education bills are not under the direct purview of Accounts officer. He coordinates with respective section heads to have a consolidated view of the accounts related subjects.

• Similarly, establishment related function for PR officials at ZP and MP level are part of Section A, under Dy. CEO, while the establishment related function for non teaching staff (Section E) is under the purview of Education officer in a separate section. These functions can be reorganized and brought under the purview of a single section head.

• Currently CEO is solely responsible for the supervision of the internal office administration and monitoring the development related activities in the district and mandal by coordinating with line department officials. In order to enable him to manage his workload better, we feel that there should be

CEO ZP

Education Officer

Accounts OfficerDy. CEO

Section AEstablish

ment

Section G Planning

Section K Pensions

Section F ZP PF

Section C ZP PF

Section D Accounts

Section H ZP PF

Section I ZP PF

Section B Education

Section E Non-

teaching staff

Chairperson ZP



additional assistance available for him through another official who can coordinate with different section heads and assist him in monitoring the district level activities.

ii. Mandal level Administration oriented:

• It was observed that at mandal level reporting hierarchy is sometimes not followed primarily due to work pressure. Figure 5.(A) below indicates the planned reporting hierarchy to be followed for the administrative staff, however, in reality due to excessive work pressure administrative staff is independently reporting to MPDO as shown in Figure 5 (B). This increases the work pressure for MPDO as there are no intermediate checks done for the work done by the support staff .

Figure 5: Administrative structure - MP

• MPDO has to conduct a mandatory 21 day tour in the mandal to identify and monitor the development related works. However, due to excessive work pressure for MP administration works, sometimes he is not able to conduct this tour which leads to inefficiencies in execution and increases dependency on the line departments. Thus, an assistant or an in-charge in absence of MPDO is required, who can coordinate with MP staff and other related activities.

• Due to limited manpower availability, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant, and Typist are solely responsible for a set of work assigned to them. This coupled with the fact, that the work is manually done, increases the work load for them. It is thus recommended that there should be an administrative in-charge for assisting this staff for executing these activities.

iii. Gram level

Citizen / Service oriented

• Panchayat Secretary (PS) is responsible for managing different array of activities and there is limited support staff available to him. With clustering of grams, which is currently under implementation, the work load for PS is expected to increase. However, with limited availability of staff under him, there would be a need of an assistant for managing different sets of works

MPDO

Superintendent (1)

Sr. Assistant (1)

Jr. Assistant (1)

Evolved organization structure due to work pressure (Multiple

contact points for MPDO)

Planned organization structure for administrative staff (Single

contact point for MPDO)

MPDO

Superintendent (1)

Sr. Assistant (1)

Jr. Assistant (1)

(A) (B)



5.2.3.2. Manpower

Adequate manpower availability is another key indicator of available capacity and has been assessed with

respect to the following:

• Current vacancies

• Number of posts identified for each category

• Additional categories required

A. Current vacancies:

• Key positions such as CEO, Dy. CEO, Education officer, and Accounts officer at the district level are vacant. These are the key positions in the district required for effective execution of the works at district level and hence should be filled up on priority.

• Similarly, the positions for the support staff such as typist and superintendents are lying vacant at district level. This coupled with the fact that the administrative functions such as record maintenance, accounting etc are executed manually, makes the task tedious.

• Further, at the mandal and gram level, the positions for the support staff such as APO (in Anantapur) is vacant and need to be filled.

B. Number of posts identified for each category Mandal level

• Currently only a single position is available at the level of superintendent, senior assistant and junior assistant, which increases the work load at each level given that most processes and activities are manual and labour-intensive. This also leads to direct intervention of MPDO in case of all these internal, establishment-related activities.

• Instead of hierarchical reporting, superintendent, senior assistant and junior assistant directly report to MPDO for different issues, thereby increasing the MPDO’s workload. It is thus felt that additional staff at lower levels (Senior assistant and Junior assistant) with the adequate skill sets (such as computer awareness and office administration) should be employed at the mandal level in order to free up the MPDO to take up issues of higher significance such as development, scheme monitoring etc



Figure 6: Capacity Gap (Manpower) - MP

Gram level

• With clustering of villages under implementation, PS would have to travel to different villages to meet citizen demands and fulfill administrative duties. Thus a Jr assistant should be assigned to each PS to assist him or her in administrative activities.

• Further, there is no night watchman currently deployed at gram level. Panchayat office possess important citizen records and with plans to provide IT infrastructure, it thus becomes essential to provide adequate security at gram level.

C. Additional categories of posts required District level

• Analysis done for organization structure at district level, indicates an additional requirement for sector specialists who can monitor and review the scheme and non scheme related works executed in the district and mandal

• Besides, an assistant to CEO is required who can co-ordinate with the section heads and report the same to CEO.

Mandal level

• Similar to district level, an additional staff for assisting MPDO to co-ordinate for works conducted at mandal level is required. Besides, he could also supervise the activities of Engineering officer and NREGS staff

• Since MPDO needs to mandatory conduct 21 day tour per month covering all villages in the mandal, to assess the development needs, thus an in-charge for administration activities at mandal level is required in absence of MPDO

MPDO

Superintendent (1)

Sr. Assistant (1)

Jr. Assistant (1)

Linear structure – Single post at each level

MPDO

Superintendent

Sr. Assistants

Jr. Assistants

Pyramidical structure – Broader base at lower level – Increase in posts at lower levels

Existing structure Recommended structure



5.2.3.3. Skills

State PR department has conducted various trainings in coordination with APARD, to develop the skills required to execute the functions defined for PR officials. However, it is observed that in spite of these trainings, there are certain challenges faced by PR officials. Following are some of the skill gaps that were highlighted during our interactions with the officials: • No support or guidance is available to the officials, while implementing the subjects / skills learned

during trainings such as Planplus, New Accounting system, Decentralised Planning etc. It is felt that on-the-job assistance should be available through a call centre, as in the case of NREGS

• Sometimes there is lack of interest in attending the trainings, as these are not mandatory and no action is taken against people for not attending them. It is suggested that a yearly training calendar should be designed and made mandatory for each level. Attendance in these trainings should be considered and disciplinary action may be initiated for defaulters.

• Currently, designation wise records are maintained for trained persons for each district but are not updated / linked with the transfers. This sometimes depicts an incorrect picture for the availability of trained personnel in a district or a mandal. It is thus suggested that individual training records with the details of the trainings attended should be maintained.

• Also, there is no feedback taken from the seniors for performance evaluation post the trainings are conducted. It is suggested that there should be a system for evaluating the improvement in performance post trainings and accordingly, if desired, additional training on the subject could be suggested.

• It is understood that trainings conducted should be more interactive and sessions such as hands on exercises, group works, evaluation examinations should be introduced, for increasing the participation in the trainings. It is seen that trainings conducted through Mana TV have poor attendance as they have limited interaction opportunities and sometimes lack disciplinary control in the sessions held.

The section below analyses the skill sets required to execute the roles defined for each PR level, challenges faced and additional trainings required. Gap analysis for the skill sets is separately done for the elected members and the officials at each level. A. Elected representative District level - ZP Chairman / Vice Chairman

Roles and responsibilities Skills required

Monitoring all the development activities in the district by convening and presiding the ZP committee meetings such as standing committee and supervising the implementation of resolutions taken in the

● Communication skills ● Conducting effective meetings ● Public speaking ● Time management ● Knowledge of committees (such as



committee meetings members, purpose and frequency of meetings) and role of ZP chairman

Exercising administrative control over the administrative function of ZP office ● Inspect any record, statement or

document in ZP office ● Issue orders in regard to transfers,

posting of staff, policy matters ● Monitor the ZP school related activities

and take regular feedback from education officer

● Office administration ● Leadership quality ● PR act ● Influencing and negotiation skills

Sanctioning works from the funds under purview of PR

● Financial management - Fund planning, budgeting

● Knowledge on various schemes, sources of funds and eligibility criteria for beneficiaries

Mandal level MPP


Inspect the administrative functioning of MP office by conducting review meetings etc. for: ● MP records, ● Progress of development works, ● Budget prepared ● Issues faced by the ZP staff and take

necessary actions

● Conducting effective meetings ● Leadership quality ● Financial management ● Communication skills ● Office administration

Supervise the development works in the mandal by convening and presiding the committee meeting with line department officials

● Knowledge of committees and role of PR representatives

● Knowledge of schemes

Propose and supervise the works in emergency situations such as floods, droughts and sanction the funds for the same

● Disaster management

Asses the development related works and infrastructure facilities required in the mandal

● Time management ● Analytical skills



by conducting tours / site visits to various organizations such as hostels, schools, hospitals and habitations etc an issue the

Address the citizen’s grievance once every week by conducting a meeting

● Knowledge of APPR act and RTI act

Represent the issues related to works, funds etc to government

● Influencing and negotiation skills

Challenges:

• MPPs have limited knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the MP staff and MPDO, thus monitoring their activities and overall functioning of the MP office sometimes becomes a challenge for them.

• Since they have to conduct various tours to assess the functioning of the institutes and to assess the development and infrastructure needs, thus time management and planning tours becomes an essential component for them.

• Further due to limited subject knowledge of APPR act, RTI act, Decentralized planning, roles and responsibilities, they are sometimes unable to execute their roles and responsibilities effectively.

Gram level – Sarpanch


Exercise administrative control over PS / Executive Officer in areas such as budget preparation, GP records, etc

● Office administration ● Financial management

Address the needs of villagers by conducting regular meetings with them and report the same to DPO

● Conducting effective gram sabhas ● Communication skills ● Public speaking

Supervise the functioning of institutes such as Aanganwadi, health centres, schools etc and allocate the funds accordingly as per the needs

● Empowerment of elected representatives ● Knowledge of relevant sections of APPR

act and RTI act

Assess the needs of the villagers during emergencies such as drought, floods etc and report the issues to the higher level officials during committee meetings

● Disaster management ● Knowledge of committees and role of

PRIs ● Leadership quality



Challenges:

• It is observed that elected representatives such as Sarpanches have low literacy levels and thus understanding the government schemes or notices or government orders is a challenge for them, thus they depend upon the PS or other educated people in the village.

• There is low awareness of schemes, and development works that can be proposed under various sectoral policies, thus there are challenges while planning for the development works that can be proposed in the village

• Further, lack of awareness about their roles and responsibilities leads to inefficient execution of administrative as well as supervisory works. This also leads to challenges while dealing with the villagers for their needs and other queries

• In case of Women Sarpanches, it is observed that they are sometimes dominated by males and have limited say in the overall functioning at the gram level

B) PR officials i) District level: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Roles and responsibilities of the CEO are broadly categorized into two heads – Development related works and Administrative responsibilities and the skills required to execute these functions are listed in the table below:

Role / Responsibility Skill required Development related works Ensuring decentralized planning approach for identifying the development works ● Assessing the works proposed ● Ensuring decentralized planning

● Decentralized Planning – Conceptual training

● Inter department coordination ● Awareness for the works

proposed by different departments

● Monitoring the progress of works ● Convening committee meetings, general

body meetings and review meetings with line department officials

● Conducting site visits to mandals

● Conducting effective meetings ● Presentation skills ● Planning tours ● Time management ● Knowledge of the committees

and role of CEO

Administrative functions

Assigning tasks to ZP staff ● Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act and Citizen charter

● Creativity and problem solving



techniques

Supervising staff performance ● Performance Counseling skills and suggesting relevant trainings to sub ordinates

● Managerial skills Annual Budget preparation ● Financial management

Grievance handling ● Communication skills ● Leadership quality ● Public speaking

Gaps observed for managing the wide spectrum of activities, which are under the purview of CEO are: • CEO conducts various meetings and due to limited time available sometimes there is lack of focus on

administrative related issues; • There is lack of awareness regarding schemes and works proposed by the line departments, due to

limited interactions with them; • Due to limited knowledge of subjects such as accounts, computers, there is dependency on the staff at

lower levels; • In some cases, they may lack professional and disciplined approach to manage subjects under their

purview Dy. CEO Dy CEO is administrative link between CEO and ZP staff for planning and establishment related functions. The roles and responsibilities of Dy. CEO and the skills / trainings required are tabulated below:

Roles & Responsibility Skill/ Training required

Establishment related - Transfers, Salary Increments, Sanctioning leave, sanctioning the funds (Stationery, TA/DA etc), supervising day to day functions – Accounts, Planning, Pension, Establishment etc,

● Office administration process ● Managerial skills ● Creativity and problem solving

techniques ● Time management ● Leadership quality ● Performance Counseling skills and

suggesting relevant trainings to sub ordinates

● New accounting system and decentralized planning



Finance related - Sanction funds / expenses for internal office administration – tour advances, Pay bills, TA bills, contingent expenditure etc

● Financial management ● Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI

act and Citizen charter

Following gaps are observed in execution of these roles and responsibilities: • There is limited knowledge of subjects such as accounts and computers, which increases the

dependency on the staff at lower levels; • Analyzing the works proposed under various schemes sometimes becomes a challenge due to limited

knowledge of schemes; • In some cases, they may lack professional and disciplined approach to manage subjects under their

purview Accounts Officer (AO) AO is in-charge of Accounts section and is responsible for all fund related matters. Following table lists the roles and responsibilities of AO and the skills required to execute these functions:

Roles and Responsibilities Skills / Trainings required Act as Financial advisor in budget preparation, planning for the development works etc.

● Financial management

Monitor the Accounts and PF sections (Sections – C/D/F/H/I) at ZP level

● Refresher course for new accounting system and decentralized planning

● Using relevant softwares proposed for PR

● Using internet, emails ● Updating web portals ● Office administration process ● Relevant sections of APPR act ● Managerial skills

Audit of ZP and MP Accounts ● Drafting notices and circulars



Education officer Education officer at the district level is appointed by the line department officials and reports either directly to CEO, or Dy. CEO or AO, as per CEO’s instructions. Roles and responsibilities for Education Officer are given in table below:

Roles and Responsibilities Skills / Trainings required Academic ● Inspecting schools for its infrastructure

facilities, availability of school teachers, conducting examinations etc.

● Managerial skills ● Performance counseling skills for non

teaching staff in PR school

Administrative ● Evaluating performance of teaching

and non teaching staff through enquiries and reporting to CEO for the same

● Verifying ZP school account for the funds released

● Reporting the performance of ZP schools in standing committee and review meetings

● Releasing contingent grants sanctioned by PR department to the secondary schools

● Inter department coordination ● Financial management

Citizen services ● Conduct enquiries for complaints, etc

received from the citizens

● Communication skills ● Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act

and Citizen charter Some of the gaps identified in the functioning of education officer are as follows: • It is observed that sometimes there are delays in taking timely feedback from ZP school – teaching and

non teaching staff • Due to delays in timely receipt of fund utilization reports, the auditing of funds is delayed. Superintendent Superintendent is the key executive officer in each section, responsible for specific areas. It is thus mandatory for him or her to have complete specialized knowledge of their area.

Roles and Responsibilities Skills Required Supervising the activities of Senior and Junior assistants

● Domain expertise – Accounts/ Planning/ Budgeting etc



● Office administration ● Relevant sections of APPR act for the

knowledge of roles and responsibilities

Coordinating between the section head and sub-ordinates

● Communication skills ● Leadership quality

Executing GO/ Notice/ Circular issued ● Understanding notices and circulars ● Using relevant computer softwares ● Using internet ● Updating web portals

The study conducted highlights following challenges faced by Superintendent: • There is limited knowledge of functional procedures for the execution of roles and responsibilities • In absence of the guidance required during the actual implementation of the subjects learned during the

trainings such as computers, accounts, plan plus etc it is seen that challenges are faced during the execution.

Sr. / Jr. Assistant Senior/ Junior Assistants are the executives initiating the work under the guidance of Dy. CEO, section head or superintendent. Their key roles and responsibilities are:

Roles and Responsibilities Skills required Executing the tasks as instructed by Dy. CEO, section head or Superintendent

● Domain specific training - new accounting system, decentralized planning, Budget preparation

● Using relevant softwares proposed for PR, such as Planplus, Accounting, etc

● Using internet – emails, web portals etc

● Data Analysis ● Drafting notices/ circulars etc ● Office administration ● Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI

act and Citizen charter Based on our interactions, some of the challenges that are identified are:



• There is dependency on the superintendent for the execution of the works, due to limited knowledge about the concerned subjects

• Work is manually done which makes the tasks tedious and subject to errors, as they have limited computer knowledge,

• A refresher course for the subjects such as new accounting system, decentralized planning etc is required, to address the issues faced during the practical implementation of various subjects

• It is seen that understanding or drafting GO/Notice/Circular sometimes is a challenge for them

ii) Mandal level: MPDO MPDO is the nodal officer at mandal level and is “Chief Executive Authority” for the works proposed by PR and other line departments in the mandal.

Roles and Responsibilities Skill / Training required G2G Finalizing and integrating the works identified for BRGF, through meetings with the villagers

● Conducting effective gram sabhas

Guiding MP staff for scheme (NREGS, Pensions and TSC) and non scheme (PR budget) budget preparation and planning

● Refresher course for new accounting system and decentralized planning

● Using software developed for PR and respective schemes for planning and budgeting exercise

Monitoring the scheme and non scheme related works by conducting tours and convening committee meetings, review meetings and general body meetings

● Time management ● Leadership quality

Reporting to line department and PR officials at district level for physical and financial progress of the works in the mandal by conducting meetings

● Inter department coordination ● Communication skills ● Knowledge of the committees at

mandal level and role of MPDO

Administrative activities ● Supervising general office

administration, such as establishment, record and register maintenance, accounting

● Issuing notices

● Managerial skills ● Performance Counseling skills and

suggesting relevant trainings to sub ordinates

● Basic computer applications and other softwares developed for PR

● Office administration



Roles and Responsibilities Skill / Training required ● Financial management ● Drafting notices and circulars

G2C

Citizen services ● Grievance redressal ● Information dissemination

● Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act and Citizen charter

Challenges faced by MPDO in executing his roles and responsibilities: • It is seen that managing an array of activities sometimes pose a challenge for MPDO, due limited time

and restricted knowledge on subjects such as PR Act, Computers etc • Lack of awareness is observed for schemes and works proposed by the line departments, due to

limited interactions with them; • In some cases, they may lack professional and disciplined approach to manage subjects under their

purview

EO (PR&RD) EO (PR&RD) is an important link for GP with PR. They coordinate with GP for schemes, works proposed and internal office management. Roles and responsibilities for EO (PR&RD) and the skills required for executing the same are given in table below:

Roles and Responsibilities Skills / Training required Assisting PS in identification of works and beneficiaries by conducting gram sabhas

● Communication skills ● Conducting effective gram sabhas

Supervising the planning and budgeting exercise at GP

• Refresher course for new accounting system and decentralized planning

• Financial management • Using relevant softwares developed

for PR • Using internet, emails and updating

web portals

Inspecting panchayat office administration – Establishment related functions,

• Office administration • Leadership quality • Relevant sections of PR, RTI Act

and Citizen charter

Monitoring the progress of proposed works through field verification

• Manageral skills



Challenges faced by EO (PR&RD) in executing the said responsibilities are: • It is seen that many a times EO (PR&RD) is unaware about the schemes and the works proposed at

the gram level which becomes a challenge while inspecting the works. • Due to limited knowledge on the subjects such as Decentralized planning, Accounting System, Budget

Preparation, PR Act, office administration, sometimes there are gaps while providing guidance to gram level functionaries

• Lack of co-ordination between PR officials and line department functionaries is observed leading to communication gaps while updating the status of work.

• It is felt that EO (PR&RD) should be trained in the same capacity as MPDO, as he is responsible for the GP office administration and works conducted at gram level.

. Engineering officer Engineering Officer under MP is responsible for technical monitoring of works done in the mandal. Besides reporting to MPDO they are responsible for updating Dy. Executive Engineers and the Executive Engineers for the works that are carried out in the respective mandals

Roles and Responsibilities Skills / trainings required

Inspecting works executed in the mandal through field visits

• New technologies in the construction industry

• Time management

Reporting to MPDO for the works executed in the mandal in weekly or monthly review meetings

• Communication skills • Relevant sections of APPR act and

RTI act Challenges faced by an Engineering Officer at mandal level are: • Updates for the works conducted in the mandal are manually recorded which are subject to errors.

Also, retaining a record for a longer period sometimes becomes difficult. • No trainings are yet given to Engineering officer for technology updates and thus it increases

dependency on others while inspecting the execution of works involving new technologies • Considering the range of people they interact with, it becomes essential to impart training for

developing softer skills such as communication skills. Superintendent Superintendent holds a very crucial position at the mandal level as he is in-charge for supervising wide spectrum of activities at mandal level.

Roles and Responsibilities Skills / Trainings required

Supervising work done by Senior and Junior Assistants

• Domain specific knowledge – Decentralized planning, Planplus, Budget



Roles and Responsibilities Skills / Trainings required

Preparation etc • Office administration • Drafting Notice and Circulars • Creativity and problem solving techniques • Leadership quality • Using internet / emails • Updating web portals • Refresher course on decentralized

planning process

Maintaining MP accounts • Refresher course on New accounting system

• Using relevant softwares proposed for PR

He is the Public information Officer (PIO) at the mandal level

• Communication Skills • Presentation skills • Relevant sections of APPR act and RTI Act

Challenges:

• Superintendent has limited computer knowledge and work is manually done, which makes the tasks tedious.

• They have limited knowledge for understanding or drafting notices, this poses a challenge during execution of the related works.

• While trainings are conducted for ‘New Accounting System’, ‘Decentralized Planning’, ‘Budget Preparation’ etc, but due to lack of guidance during execution, there is inefficient implementation. This also increases dependency on the officials at district level.

• Due to excessive work pressure, superintendent is not able to supervise the activities of the Senior and Junior assistants efficiently.

• Superintendent is PIO at mandal level, but due to lack of knowledge about PR and RTI Act, he sometimes may not be able to meet the queries raised by citizens.

Typist / Sr./ Jr. Assistant These are the first level executives at the mandal level and responsible for executing the array of activities such as establishment, record management, Planning for schemes, budgeting for PR and schemes, as assigned to them. Their roles and responsibilities and the skills required to execute the same are tabulated below:



Roles and Responsibilities Skills required

Domain specific works – Planning, Reporting, maintaining the record and registers etc

• Refresher course on decentralized planning process

• Office administration • Creativity and problem solving techniques • Drafting Notice and Circulars issued

Drafting the budget

• Financial management • Basic computer applications such as MS

Office • Relevant sections of APPR act and RTI act

Challenges: • Most of the work is manually done as they have limited working knowledge for computer applications,

which makes the tasks tedious and time consuming. • Sometimes they lack competency for understanding or drafting the notices and they have to depend on

MPDO or EO (PR&RD) to execute or to file the GO / Notice / Circular. • They lack awareness for the schemes implemented in the mandal and the corresponding details about

the beneficiaries, time limits etc • While the trainings are conducted for new accounting system, Decentralised planning etc, but due to

lack of guidance for the queries raised while implementing, the subjects learned in the trainings are not practically used.

• They lack knowledge for the standard practice that should be followed in the office management, and thus face challenges in maintaining the records etc

• Further, due to excess workload, it is observed that trainings for soft skills such as time management should be given.

iii) Gram level: Panchayat secretary Panchayat Secretary is the only person responsible for the gram level functioning. The spectrum of the roles and responsibilities for the Panchayat secretary are as follows:

Roles & responsibilities Skills required

Identifying and proposing development works under BRGF and other schemes

• Refresher course on decentralized planning process

• Conducting effective Gram Sabhas • Using internet and computer applications

such as epmis, e-Panhayat etc



Monitoring office administration • Office administration

Reporting to line departments and Mandal Parishad for progress of works, beneficiaries identified etc

• Knowledge on the committees at gram level and role in those committees.

• Inter department coordination • Using internet and emails

Providing citizen services • Operating computer applications developed for PR

• Relevant sections of PR Act, RTI act and Citizen charter

Updating villagers about the schemes • Leadership quality • Operating internet

Grievance handling • Communication skills • Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act

and Citizen charter Challenges:

• Panchayat secretary is responsible for wide spectrum of activities ranging from selection of works, supervision during execution, grievance handling, office administration etc. Limited staff at gram level and lack of knowledge of concerned subjects leads to inefficiencies in execution.

• Literacy level for PS is low, thus understanding the government documents such as GO / Notice / Circular sometimes poses difficulties for them.

Bill Collector / Junior Assistant • At the gram level these are the only functionaries available to assist Panchayat secretary for office

administration and attend to the citizen’s need, query and grievances. Their roles and responsibilities include:

Roles and Responsibilities Skills / trainings required

Preparing budget and other planning related activities

• Financial Management • Refresher course on decentralized

planning process • Using softwares developed for PR such as

Planplus, epmis, epanchayat etc

Maintaining records for assets and records

• Office administration

Follow up for orders and notices issued

• Understanding Notice and Circulars



Assisting PS for Information Dissemination for schemes and services

• Communication skills • Using internet and emails

Collecting bills and updating respective registers

• Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act and Citizen charter

Challenges:

• Trainings are not yet conducted for Bill collector/ Jr. Assistant, thus they are not able to assist Panchayat Secretary in office administration

• They have limited computer knowledge and sometimes have to depend on external consultants for basic computer applications or staff at mandal level.

• Due to low literacy levels, understanding notices and circulars pose a challenge for them

5.2.4. ICT Infrastructure

Adequate IT infrastructure in terms of availability of IT hardware components such as computer, printer, UPS etc. and software components which would assist PR officials to efficiently undertake the administrative work needs to be provided. In addition to these, internet connectivity at each tier needs to be assessed for successful implementation to achieve the ePRI objective. This section provides a gap assessment of the hardware components, softwares required to improve efficiency in the functioning of PR department and the internet connectivity at each tier. Software components required for PR functioning: Gaps in terms of challenges faced by PR in the process currently followed for the administrative functioning are identified. It is suggested that these functions should be computerized to improve the efficiency of the work. The following section analyzes the gaps in PR functioning: Planning

• Communication for the priority sector identified for BRGF in DPC meetings sometimes reach village, post the identification of works in the gram sabha. Same may be computerized and shared online for effective planning and time utilization.

• Identification and justification of works under BRGF is currently limited due to non availability of the information on topography, geographical information on village / habitat. Database providing information for the same may be created and shared online so that it is easily accessible while doing the planning exercise

• Preparing action plan for BRGF needs lot of interaction and sharing of information between different departments, involving physical movement of files and registers, which consumes lot of time and also



is a tedious work. Besides this, it also poses a risk of being lost or misplaced. Thus, if such information is available online, it would help in effective planning.

• Provision for sector wise information till gram level is not available. A drill down option, to identify sector wise work is required till gram level

• Plans / Shelf of works submitted by Gram panchayat do not provide clarity on the location and topographical profile of place and indication of existing assets and infrastructure. This, if available would improve the plans prepared for different schemes.

Budgeting

• Currently, budgeting exercise is a mere allocation of funds as per guidelines for various subjects. The actual need / ground level feasibility for a sector is not computed as such information is not readily available.

• Indication of the works to be carried out, for which the budget is allocated is not provided in the budget prepared and thus needs deeper detailing

• Validation of the budget prepared consumes time as it is a manual exercise • All operating activities incurring financial transactions is not readily linked to the budget to provide real

time monitoring of actual versus budgeted Monitoring and Reporting

• Instant notification for commencement of work is available only through monthly meetings. Providing status updates for all the works in a mandal / district takes lot of time and leaves limited time for resolving the issues. Thus updating the status of work online, would help focusing the meetings for resolving the issues

• Actual progress of work vs. planned works is not compiled at gram level. Monitoring at higher levels is done only during the physical and financial reports as and when received. This can be computerized and regularly updated, for monitoring and reporting purpose.

• Information about routine tasks for the staff is not available for inspection by higher level authorities and can be reviewed only during physical inspection which sometimes is not regularly done.

• Committees such as ‘Planning and Finance’, ‘Functional Committees’ at mandal and gram level have significant role to play but are inactive in some regions. Information on resolutions taken in the committee meetings along with the follow up actions taken for the same, if available online would enhance attendance and help in enforcement of decisions.

Accounting

• PR account is currently manually prepared which is time consuming process as various registers, receipts; vouchers etc. are referred. The information for receipts and expenditure is manually computed and maintained based on individual entries. This consumes time and the process is subject to errors.



• Audit files are manually maintained and are not easily accessible for inspection Scheme related / management

• Panchayats today lack adequate information for the beneficiaries under various schemes such as NRHM, Scholarships under SC and BC welfare, SSA, NHM etc

• Real - time monitoring (such as fund utilization and implementation) for schemes involving line departments pose a challenge at higher levels

• Limited time is available for selection of beneficiaries for schemes, as the information regarding the schemes does not always reach on time. it is also observed, that sometimes, by the time information reaches upto the intended beneficiaries, time for availing the schemes is already lapsed

Citizen services

• List of services offered by Panchayat and degree of adherence to service levels is currently not available with citizens and sometimes Panchayat secretary also lacks complete information for provision of the service. This should be essentially be computerized so that it could be be available in public domain.

• Information regarding the recurring complaint for a service to assess the loopholes / gaps in the service is not tracked. Details regarding each of the service should be maintained online and should be accessible for the public

Asset management

• Registers for assets are maintained manually, and sometimes not referred while planning for new assets. Verification for the planned assets becomes a challenge at higher level. Thus details such as habitats, buildings, water sources, schemes implemented, cropping pattern etc should be

• Job charts and checklist for routine maintenance for asset maintenance such as drinking water tanks, cleaning and drainage of drains are not available for monitoring at higher levels

Administrative – Establishment

• Integrated details such as DOJ, positions held, trainings attended, leave records, PF, disciplinary cases (if any), record of transfers and due time for next transfer etc. are not available in the integrated format. This need to be referred and updated regularly, and thus should be computerized and brought online for easy access and reference.

Database

• Comprehensive citizen information database comprising of details such as name, caste, family members, house number, assets (land and property) available, education, services availed from



panchayat, benefits availed under different schemes etc is not available. This forms the database for all the planning related activities required by panchayat and other line departments.

• Nearly 45 registers at DL, 27 registers at ML and 22 registers at GL are maintained manually. These contain crucial data sets, which is regularly referred and thus needs to be preserved. The time period for preserving the data varies from 1-30 years. Physical maintenance of the registers, referring / retrieving information from these registers, verification of details with other records and at higher levels becomes difficult

• Currently it is a challenge to retrieve most recent acts and amendments even within panchayats, which affects the PR functioning. Thus it should be readily available as and when updated

• Besides these, other support softwares such as Antivirus, Regional language (Telugu) etc, should regularly be updated and provided as these forms important component while working. It is observed that some of the districts/ mandals do not have updated licensed versions, which affects the work.

Hardware component

• Availability of Hardware components such as Computers, peripheral devices (Printer, scanner, fax, Photostat, CD/DVD writer etc.), UPS etc is analyzed. It is suggested that there should be a separate server / router till mandal level.

District level:

• In both the districts, the hardware components such as computers, UPD and other peripheral devices are found to be adequate for the current PR functioning. However, with a proposal to IT enable most of the activities, it is suggested that RAM and the storage capacity should further be increased so as to support the IT initiative.

Mandal level

• At mandal level, there is scope of further improvement for the IT infrastructure. Currently, of total three computers, only one computer is available for PR administration. Additional computers, for PR administrative function needs to be provided. With most of the activities proposed to be computerized, it is suggested that there should be one computer available at least for executive staff such as Superintendent Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant. Besides, there should be separate computer for MPDO, for the monitoring and reporting purposes.

• Besides these, there is requirement of peripheral devices such as Fax, Printer, CD/ DVD writer, Pen drive etc. it is seen that at the mandal level, there are issues related to power. Thus, UPS with a minimum backup of 7-8 hours should be provided, so that work is not interrupted.

Gram level



• IT infrastructure is found to be inadequate at the gram level. Except for few major GPs, who have received the computers under ePanchayat, there is no IT infrastructure available in minor GPs. However, all the GPs lack availability of peripheral devices and don’t have adequate power backup to operate the computers. With clustering of villages under implementation in the state, it is suggested that one computer per cluster should initially be provided.

Connectivity

• Except for the district level, there exists poor internet connectivity as we move down the PR tiers. State government has taken many steps to provide the internet connectivity till the gram level. all the districts in the state have broadband connection, which adequately meets the current need. However, with the plans to IT enable PR functions there will be a need to increase the width of connection to cater to the new services as well. All the mandals have dial up connection, which provides poor internet connectivity, thus there is a need to improve the internet connectivity at mandal level. with this objective, state government had released the funds for broadband connection. As part of e-panchayat project, some of the grams have received the IT infrastructure along with the internet connectivity. However, dial up connection used for providing the internet connectivity sometimes is not able to adequately meet the requirement. Hence, internet connectivity at gram level needs to be enhanced

5.2.5. Gap in integration with selected NeGP initiatives

In Andhra Pradesh, there exist gaps for integration of NeGP initiatives, primarily due to poor IT infrastructure availability with PR department and lack of commercially sustainable business models . Progress in Andhra Pradesh in these areas (CSC and SWAN) has been limited so far, but plans are underway to take these initiatives to the next level in the foreseeable future. The progress in the case of citizen service delivery points has been mixed in the state of Andhra Pradesh. While the government has launched a series of initiatives such as e-Seva, RSDP scheme, Rajiv Internet Village and more recently the CSC programme (under NeGP), the lack of commercial viability of many of these programmes has restricted their growth. Our study highlights that Gram Panchayats have not been integrated with the state CSCs so far either offline or through e-Panchayat. This can lead to duplication / overlap in provision of G2C services. CSCs are currently present in the GP area but not within the same premises. One of the main reasons for the lack of integration is poor connectivity at the GP level. However, going forward there is a plan to integrate CSCs with the Gram Panchayats under NeGP. Last mile connectivity, proposed to be achieved through APSWAN remains unfulfilled due to limited available of funds. it is currently extended only up to district level for collectorate office and some line departments, there is no connectivity for PR department.



Even in the case of NPP, integration has been largely non-existent. While web pages exist for PRIs, the same are not updated with relevant information, and thus the NPP’s potential has not been realized.



6. Proposed To-Be Scenario – Recommended Future state of PRIs in Andhra Pradesh

6.1. PRI Internal Functions

6.1.1. Planning

End state vision- The intent should be to institute an inclusive, comprehensive and integrated planning function which is aligned with overall development goals of the local area and involves active participation by PRI officials, elected representatives and line departments. Summary of key issues-

Zill Parishad Mandal Parishad Gram Panchayat

• There is lack of integration between the ZP office and line departments in local area planning. Line departments undertake independent planning for non-BRGF activities which could lead to conflicts and duplication.

• There is a need for dedicated human resources for planning.

• Knowledge of scope and guidelines for proper planning are lacking

• There is a strong need for training superintendents and senior assistants on PlanPlus as well as IT systems and tools

• Works identified at the gram sabha may be politically motivated and may not represent the true needs and aspirations of the people.

• There is no clear linkage between budgeting and planning. Budgets are a mere revision of last year’s actuals whereas planning is done based on estimated grants

In order to establish a more robust planning function, the following interventions are proposed aimed at addressing the weaknesses and additional improvement opportunities identified:

1. Process

• At the district level, the District Collector is the apex decision making authority, and therefore governs local PRIs as well as other line departments. In light of this convergence at the level of the District Collector, he would need to play a pivotal role if the planning process is to be streamlined. It is suggested that the District Collector should make it mandatory for all plans (including line department



plans) to be discussed, debated and ratified in the General Body meeting. If all plans (irrespective of source of funding and executing agency) are evaluated and endorsed by a common integrated panel (such as the DPC) and subsequently by the General Body, the planning process will become more transparent and conducive to local area needs.

• The DPC should be leveraged to function as the nodal planning body for all plans. Its membership should be expanded to include the senior most line department functionaries at the district level on a permanent basis. This will ensure that decisions are taken and plans are prepared taking into account inputs and views expressed by all stakeholders. At the same, conflicts and overlaps in initiatives planned by PRIs and line departments will be avoided.

• The planning process should commence with sectoral / functional feedback collected in a gram sabha. The outcome of the gram sabha proceedings should broadly cover the following areas-

i. What are the most pressing needs related to that sector/function? ii. How has the progress been so far? iii. What were the key issues / gaps in last year’s activities? iv. What are the demands and expectations going forward?

• The above feedback should be captured on a prescribed template by the Panchayat Secretary and handed over to the MPDO, who in turn should consolidate the feedback from all grams under his / her control and prepare a list of sectoral priorities with the reasons for the same. These sectoral priorities should be sent to the relevant sub-committee under DPC before the plans are prepared.

• The next step in the planning process should commence with formulation of sector-specific priorities based on the feedback received and other priority areas identified by the stakeholders involved. These priorities should be communicated to all MPDOs to initiate bottom-up planning as being done currently in case of BRGF.

• Planning should be closely integrated with budgeting and should commence with the communication of grant sources and amounts for the next year.

• Spatial information regarding existing assets (OHG, roads, wells etc) should be taken into account before planning new works

• The role of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) should be expanded to evaluate all works at the district and mandal level and not be restricted to BRGF works as being done currently.

2. Technology

• There should be a “drill down” functionality in PlanPlus to retrieve and access planning data (works planned, amounts etc) on the basis of various parameters such as works by sector, projected expenditure etc. Multiple search fields in PlanPlus will enable senior decision makers and policy experts to retrieve specific information easily and identify gaps / improvement areas

• Line department plans should also be uploaded on PlanPlus to provide a single, unified view, and avoid duplication. List of works should be standardized and entered in the PlanPlus database so that works can be simply selected rather than detailed individually.



3. People

• Training session on effective planning techniques should be conducted one month before the planning process begins at the mandal level

• Superintendents and Senior Assistants at the mandal level need to be trained on IT applications so that they can use PlanPlus effectively

6.1.2. Implementation and Reporting

End state objective- To establish a transparent and comprehensive reporting system to enable higher authorities to monitor, review and evaluate plan implementation and undertake timely corrections / interventions as required Summary of key issues-

Zilla Parishad Mandal Parishad Gram Panchayat Release of grants gets delayed but GOI insists on timely utilization certificates

There is no convergence of line departments with MP office for implementation of works

There is no up to date repository of works being undertaken in the gram at any given point of time

There is significant scope for IT-enabled reporting. Current reports are in excel/word format. Though there is a provision to monitor progress of BRGF works in PlanPlus, it is not being used. Furthermore, reporting is restricted to BRGF-related works and other scheme-related activities are not reported through or shared with PRIs

In order to establish a more robust planning function, the following interventions are proposed aimed at addressing the weaknesses and additional improvement opportunities identified: 1. Process There should be three broad areas of monthly reporting and MIS to ensure a system of controls, institute accountability, and preempt early warning signs in important functional areas – a. Funds Dashboard – For monitoring sources and utilization of funds b. Works Dashboard – For monitoring progress of works (BRGF and others) c. G2C Services Dashboard – For monitoring service delivery effectiveness and citizen-related issues



a. Funds Dashboard • Reporting on the month’s fund utilization and revenue collection should be automated. Monthly

performance reports should be generated electronically and shared with all users. This should be followed by a review meeting between the E.O. PR&RD and the Panchayat Secretary (for GP) and between CEO ZP and MPDO for MP, and the outcome/action points should be documented to be discussed in the next meeting. The following data fields should be captured (both for the month and YTD) :

i. Grants – Amount, source, date received, utilization status (utilized / unutilized / partially utilized), utilization %, reason for non-utilization (if applicable), Unused amounts

ii. Tax receipts iii. Other Income iv. Establishment-related expenses v. Other expenses (with details) vi. Available cash balance

• MPDO should also prepare a qualitative summary of performance citing reasons for deviations from plan, under-utilization of funds and any other out-of-ordinary events.

b. Works Dashboard BRGF Works

• An electronic tracking system should be set up in PlanPlus to track progress of BRGF works finalized at the beginning of the year. In addition to estimated cost, timelines should also be entered against each work. Status tracking should be enabled through the following fields (for each work) :

i. Completion status (completed, no started, on track, behind schedule, ahead of schedule) ii. Budget variance (estimated vs actual expenditure) iii. Reason for delay (if applicable)

• The above heads need to be aligned with those developed under PRIASoft / Any other F&A module for simplicity of use and consistency.

• The above physical and financial progress dashboard must be complemented by a bi-monthly onsite verification to authenticate progress reports submitted.

Other Scheme-related works

• For other schemes in which PRIs are actively involved (NREGS, TSC, RVM), scheme-specific dashboards can be generated capturing details such as beneficiaries covered, % coverage, reason for delays (if any) and other relevant metrics through a scheme management module similar to RAGAS. For schemes where PRIs are the executing agency, they should be the data custodian and be responsible for timely updation of records. For other schemes where there involvement is largely passive, the relevant line department should be responsible for maintaining and updating records in the same scheme management module.



c. G2C services Dashboard A monthly summary report should be generated containing information such as no of applications received, processed within SLAs, service fees collected etc for each GP. Other Reports In addition to the monthly dashboards mentioned above, quarterly reports should be generated by each PRI office to report establishment-related matters, notably – • Asset Summary report – This should cover both IT and non-IT assets held under the jurisdiction of the

respective PRI including those held by any PRI at a lower tier. For instance, the MP Asset update report should contain consolidated information for each GP under its jurisdiction along with its own assets. Similarly, the ZP report should consist of information related to all MPs under it along with its own assets. The following fields should be captured –

i. Opening stock by category (Land, Buildings, IT Hardware, Furniture, Misc) at the beginning of the quarter

ii. New assets acquired iii. Assets disposed iv. Method of disposal and proceeds (if any) from the same v. Closing stock vi. Total Value of assets held by category

2. Technology

• MIS reports should be generated though a state level portal (intranet) with a functionality to drill down to ZP, MP and GP levels. The three types of dashboards should be generated through the portal which should be developed as a front end to respective functional modules ( F&A module for fund monitoring, e-Panchayat for G2C services and Scheme management module for all works)

• Consolidated transaction data for the same needs to be entered by a responsible executive at each level. Data should be refreshed by a specified date every month.

• The reports should also be made available for public access through the Panchayat portal 3. People

• Training on effective data management and reporting techniques will need to be imparted to Superintendents and Senior Assistants at each level



6.1.3. Budgeting

End state objective - The intent should be to have a robust and standardized budgeting framework, to automate the budgeting process as appropriate and to reduce the time and effort in preparation of budgets Key Process / Function Objectives: • To plan and control expenditure • To Effectively forecast funds requirement • To provide a mechanism to report non achievement of objectives and feedback of corrective action • To integrated with Planning and Accounting functions Summary of key issues -

Technology Process People

• Annual budget is prepared in spreadsheets on computer which is prone to data loss, versioning inconsistencies, uncontrolled access and manipulation (lack of audit trail).

• Budget preparation and approval is manual. The process is standard with low complexity and hence is a candidate for automation.

• Delays in submission of Annual Budget.

• The budget process needs to be streamlined. Currently it is a mere escalation of the revenue / expenditure for the previous year and allocations as mandated by government.

• No actual analysis is done for the preparation of the budget in terms of required needs / works

• Budget format varies from PRI to PRI and tier to tier.

• The budgeting process does not acknowledge or link with the identification and prioritization of works for the ensuing year to enable mid-term reviews and MIS

• There is lack of knowledge among the PRI staff, specially MP and GP level, for the preparation of the budget.

• No training has been imparted, to the resources involved in budgeting process at all three tiers of PRIs, on the budget methodology.



In order to establish a more robust budgeting function, the following interventions are proposed aimed at addressing the weaknesses and additional improvement opportunities identified: 1. Process

• Standard budgeting format / template should be made available online common for all three tiers. The following columns should be included in the template for the budget of next financial year (FY):

i. Column 1: Particulars / heads of sources of revenue / expenditure ii. Column 2: Actuals of previous FY iii. Column 3: Budget of current FY iv. Column 4: Revised budget of current FY v. Column 5: Budget estimate of next FY

• The following statements as of 31st March should be annexed with the annual budget: i. Number statement

ii. Statement showing unspent balances of previous years iii. Balances in various bank accounts and treasury iv. Statement of Loans and Advances

• A detailed budgeting methodology / guidelines should be developed and should be made available at all the offices for reference. The guidelines should include:

i. Timelines for preparation, periodic reviews, revision, sanction, etc. ii. Procedure for preparation and sanction of budget iii. Review and sanction authorities (responsibility matrix) iv. Procedure for revision of budget v. Source of funds and their basis of calculation

• Budget versus actual variance analysis should be done quarterly. Reasons for deviations and corrective actions to be taken should be recorded on the software application itself. Review should be done by following PR personnel:

i. GP budget – Panchayat Secretary (PS) ii. MP budget – MPDO iii. ZP budget – Accounts Officer (AO)

• The same should be approved by senior authority. Budget estimates should be revised after six months based on the half year’s actual receipts and expenditure. Revised budget should be approved by gram sabha / general body. 2. Technology

• There should be a web-based software application for preparation of budget for all three tiers.



• The enrtire budgeting process should be carried out on the software application starting from preparation to obtaining approvals. The application should also provide view option of approved budget for lower level PRIs e.g., an MP should be able to view the approved budget of all GPs under that MP. Similarly, ZP should be able to budget of all the MPs and GPs within that ZP.

• Budgeting software should be linked with accounting software to easy the automated generation of variance reports. Automated controls can be placed whereby system will not allow accounting entry to be passed beyond the budgeted amount under a particular head without appropriate approval.

3. People

• Trainings should be imparted on the budgeting methodology to the PR staff involved in the budgeting process. The following personnel should be included:

i. GP – Secretary, Junior Assistant ii. MP – Senior Assistant (Accounts), MPDO iii. ZP – Senior Assistant (Accounts), Superintend (Accounts), Accounts Officer

• Elected representatives should also be educated on this. • Refresher trainings sessions should be arranged every year one month before the budgeting process

begins to keep the PRI personnel updated on the budgeting process. These refresher training sessions can also be used as a platform to discuss the issues, which PRI personnel are facing in budgeting and to share best practices.

6.1.4. Accounting

End state objective – The intent should be to have an integrated accounting system for accurate recording of transactions, digitization of data and timely reporting. Key Process / Function Objectives:

• To be the primary source of financial information • To produce periodic financial statements and reports in time i.e., monthly summary, quarterly

statements, annual accounts, utilization certificate (UC), etc. • To ensure integration with other functions - planning, budgeting and reporting Accounting function includes:

• General accounting • Maintenance of books of accounts such as cash book, posting register, rants appropriation register,

loans and advance register, establishment audit register, LPC register, advance recoverable register, TA bill register, etc.

• Treasury reconciliation and bank reconciliation



• Preparation of salary bills of all officers and staff and honorarium bills of elected representatives • Sanction of loans and advances to staff • Preparation of periodic accounts summary statement • Presentation of quarterly and annual financial reports in ZP meetings • Preparation of UC and submission of the same to the concern office • Preparation of responses for Accountant General Audit Report (test audit) and Local Fund Audit Report

(Voucher audit) Summary of key issues -

Technology Process People

• General accounting is done manually. FAS, a module in ePanchayat, was in use for 2 years but due to change in accounting principles this year, same has been discontinued.

• Financial reports and utilization certificates are prepared manually and not uploaded on the district portal

• The whole process from raising request for loan to approval is manual.

• Delays in finalization of monthly accounts and preparation of monthly reconciliation statement

• Delays in responding to the audit objections primarily due to non-availability of information

• Delays in receipt of information / budget from MPs

• Delays at all three tiers as there is no follow up from the State. The grant is released by State without considering the number statement / budget.

• Several key positions are vacant in many ZPs. The posts of Dy. CEO and AO are vacant in Anantapur and Chittoor Districts. CEO is Dy. CEO in-charge while an MPDO is holding additional responsibility as AO in-charge.

• Lack of IT- trained man power

In order to establish a more robust budgeting function, the following interventions are proposed aimed at addressing the weaknesses and additional improvement opportunities identified: 1. Process

• Calendar / timetable for generation and submission of various reports / statements should be developed and circulated at all the tiers of PRIs in the beginning of the financial year. This will help in better planning of internal work and reducing the delays in submission of financial reports / statements.

• This year PRIs have shifted from single entry cash basis accounting system to double entry cash basis accounting system. As per the best practices, accounts should be maintained on double entry accrual



basis system. Under the cash basis accounting, stress is on Receipts and Expenditure statement. Accrual basis of accounting will help in presenting the true state of Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statement. It is recommended to shift to double entry accrual basis accounting system.

• Accounting controls and procedures should be clearly defined and established: i. Responsibility matrix considering the concept of segregation of duty (SoD)

ii. Standard accounting entry input forms iii. Month end cut off process iv. Procedure for bank and treasury reconciliation v. Electronic approval of accounting entries and disposal of reconciliation items vi. Regulated control of new account head creation

• The best way to lay down the rules and procedures is to document standard operating procedures (SOP) for the accounts function.

• Key performance indicator (KPI) should be defined to measure the performance of the function. Number of days to produce a report / statement can be one of the KPIs.

2. Technology

• There is scope for web-based finance and accounting software and a payroll software, which is integrated with the Planning, budgeting and reporting modules. All the accounting sub-processes and activities should be automated:

i. All the accounting registers and records should be digitized ii. Financial reports / statements should be generated from the software online and should be

made available on the district portal for easy access iii. The audit queries / objections should be posted and resolved online iv. The whole process from raising request to approvals and transfer of funds may be made online v. Automatic period end reports should be produced through online software application

• Bank Reconciliation Statement and Treasury Reconciliation Statements should be generated through

the online software application. Application can be developed to recognize and upload the bank and treasury statements. The system can compare the cash book with the uploaded statements and generate the reconciliation statement automatically. The reconciliation items can be disposed of online by the concerned accounting staff after obtaining online approval from the concerned approving authority.

• System based controls should be established: § Controls for prior period posting § Various accounting entry type may be defined such as standard entry, reversal entry, recurring

entry, etc. § System controlled month / period end procedures and processes § On line training and help facilities



§ Automatic balances carried forward feature for the pre-defined account heads at the end of defined period

§ Drill down facilities to provide full audit trail on financial data § Online approval mechanism

3. People

• All users of financial systems should be fully trained on the accounting procedures and guidelines. The following personnel should be included:

i. GP – Secretary, Junior Assistant ii. MP – Senior Assistant (Accounts), MPDO iii. ZP – Senior Assistant (Accounts), Superintend (Accounts), Accounts Officer, Deputy CEO

• Refresher trainings sessions should be arranged every year. • Awareness with respect to accounting controls and legal framework should be increased amongst

relevant PR accounting staff. • Timetable for various accounting reports / statements should be communicated to all relevant staff at

the beginning of the financial year.

6.1.5. Pension Processing (Both PRI staff and through IGNOAPS)

Process and Technology:

• Currently the process is completely manual and entails extensive transfer of manual files and documents which leads to processing delays quite often. The pension application processing system should be automated. A district level pension portal should be set up through which Head masters and MPDOs can upload pension proposals along with scanned documents. These documents can then be downloaded by the Pension section at the ZP office for further processing.

• In the long term, digital links can be established between the Pension section and the District Audit Office as well as the District Treasury office so that the information transfer related to pension proposals among these departments can be made more efficient.

• Under IGNOAPS, Disbursal of funds should be made more transparent, efficient and faster through direct payment of amounts from the DTO to the beneficiary accounts instead of being routed via cash transactions handled by MPDOs/VOs/SHGs. A bank account should be opened mandatorily with each pension account approval. For existing beneficiaries, bank account/ post office savings account details should be taken from those who have savings accounts. For those who do not hold savings accounts, SHGs/VOs should facilitate opening of accounts within specified deadlines.

6.1.6. Provident Fund Management

Process:



• For new employees, a PF number should be generated automatically without waiting for them to apply for the same. This should be a part of the joining formalities

• A key weakness identified in the current process is that even if PF numbers have been allotted, subscription amounts are not being automatically deducted in some cases, and furthermore, they are not being automatically revised in line with salary increments or promotions. In order to address this issue, it is suggested that the payroll master should be updated with the subscription amount and updated annually immediately after promotions / increments have been granted. The payroll processing software should draw inputs from the payroll master, and hence calculate accurate salary amounts after taking into account PF deductions.

• The process for PF loan applications should be automated with the employee applying for the same through an employee portal and subsequent workflows and approvals being automated. The payroll master should also be updated with the loan amortization/repayment schedule to enable automatic deductions in the payroll processing cycle.

Technology:

• Payroll processing system with linkages to the District Treasury Office needs to be developed and a Payroll master needs to be created with employee-wise compensation details

6.1.7. Record Management

Most registers are maintained manually which poses two major challenges. Firstly, they are prone to damage/mutilation. Secondly, retrieving and accessing archived records is a tedious and time-consuming task and not conducive to efficient internal functioning of PRIs. Digitization of this data is therefore strongly recommended. To ensure IT security, controls should be simultaneously instituted by granting ‘edit’ and ‘read only’ access as appropriate. The following registers and records should be digitized:

ZP MP GP Cash Books List of beneficiaries (under

NREGS) RTI Register

Register of Grants List of beneficiaries (under Pension Scheme, SGSY and Financial Assistance by SC/ST/BC welfare departments)

Birth Register

Grant Appropriation Register Cash Books Death Register

Cheque Received Register Grant Appropriation Register Marriage Register

Vouchers Cheque Received Register Job Card Register



ZP MP GP Payable Register (for Salary) Vouchers License (Trade) Book

Honorarium Register Payable Register (for Salary) Cash Books

Salary Bills Honorarium Register Payable Register (for Salary)

Number Statement Measurement Book / M-Book Honarorium Register

Loans and advance register Muster (under NREGS) Stock Register

Register of permanent advances

Muster (for MP works) Permanent Assets Register

Register of bills passed for payment / Treasury Bill Passed Register

Advance Tour Dairy Tools & Plant Register

Establishment audit register Tour Dairy Register of Works

LPC register Drinking Water Complaint Register

Register of Contractors

Advance recoverable register RTI Register Demand Register

TA bill register Stock Register Arrears Demand Register

Transfer entry register Permanent Assets Register Minutes of Meetings / Resolution

Register of contingent charges Tools & Plant Register Correspondence / Communication

Register of money orders Register of Works

Register of contribution Register of Contractors

Daily stamp account Minutes of Meetings / Resolution

Advance Tour Dairy Correspondence / Communication

Tour Dairy

Register of service books

Increment register

RTI Register

Pension Payment Order (PPO) Register

Pension Bill Register



ZP MP GP Nomination Register (for PF)

Register of suits

Stock Register

Permanent Assets Register

Tools & Plant Register

Minutes of Meetings / Resolution

Correspondence / Communication

6.1.8. Correspondence Management

Process: The current process of communication among PRIs is manual which entails extensive paperwork. The process suffers from a more serious flaw in that documents sent to remote PRI offices maybe delayed or even lost. It is suggested that transmission of circulars, notifications and any other office-related information should be done via email. All employees at and above a certain level at each office (For instance, Senior Assistants at ZP and MP, and Panchayat Secy at GP) should be provided with official web-based email IDs. In addition to broadcasting via email, all circulars, memos, GOs etc should be uploaded on the District portal to facilitate easy access. In the beginning, both email-based and physical communication should be carried out but gradually physical communication should be phased out. An audit trail should be maintained to record details such as date and time of delivery, sender name and delivery failure report. This will ensure that communication is speedy, easily accessible and targeted to all relevant users. Email distribution lists can also be set up by designation, PRI tier, PRI name etc.

6.1.9. Grievance Redressal

Process: The grievance redressal system functional in Anantapur district, Prajavani, is a good example of a robust complaint management tool. Complaints received are entered into Prajavani and grievances relevant to the ZP office are passed onto the CEO ZP for investigation, who in turn forwards the same to the relevant section within ZP office for responding. This can be replicated at all PRI offices across all districts in AP to enable better recording and processing of grievance-related communication. Each PRI office should log in all complaints received, generate a reference number and hand over a printed acknowledgment to the citizen along with the reference number for future tracking/ correspondence. Status of the grievance application must be updated along with the



outcome. Summary stats – total applications received. Applications processed, pending applications, applications by type (G2C services-related, scheme-related etc) should be viewed and evaluated by officials at the next higher PRI tier

6.1.10. Administration and Governance

1. Maintenance of Tour Plan A key responsibility of the MPDO is to undertake monthly visits in the mandal to assess village-level needs. It is statutory for MPDO to: • Conduct camps (visiting a village) for 20 days covering all the villages each month • Visit four randomly selected institutes for inspection in the mandal per month • However, no review is undertaken by officials at higher levels to check whether the camps / visits are

being conducted as planned, and findings being properly recorded and actioned or not. It is therefore suggested that:

• Tour plan for the month should be updated on the district portal for viewing by PRI officials as well as citizens

• Outcome of each visit/camp should be updated on the plan for review, and simultaneously sent to the CEO ZP via email

2. Meeting Management Each PRI tier is expected to conduct statutory meetings as stated below : • ZP – DPC Standing Committee meetings and General Body Meetings every quarter • MP – General Body Meetings every quarter • GP – Gram Sabhas However, it was noticed that the outcomes of these meetings are not recorded consistently and comprehensively, and not shared with all stakeholders. The State PR department in Hyderabad also expressed the need to monitor these meetings, both in terms of frequency as well as outcomes and action points. Therefore it is suggested that: • The Panchayat portal should be updated with the annual meeting calendar of all statutory meetings to

be convened by ZP, MP and GP • After the designated date has passed, the following details must be updated for review

i. Status – completed, cancelled, postponed (with reasons for cancellation or postponement) ii. List of attendees iii. Agenda iv. Minutes and action points



6.1.11. Tax and Fee Collection at Gram Level

Process:

• All registers including House tax demand register should be digitized. Updates to the register in case of mutation of property should be done by the GP office on the basis of mutation notification received directly from the sub-registrar’s office instead of the citizen having to apply for the same.

• Arrears due from citizens (for house tax, water fee, license fee) should be recorded electronically and automatically carried forward to the next financial year (if required). This will ensure that officials are able to determine the arrears position for any citizen instantly at any given point of time instead of retrieving this information from previous years’ registers as being done currently.

• Issuance of arrear/penalty notices should be generated electronically every month and there should be an ageing analysis of outstanding amounts (bills outstanding for more than 1 year, between 6 months and 1 year, between 3 and 6 months etc). The report should be generated through the arrears database and shared with the relevant MPDO.

• Currently the only payment channel is the Bill Collector, who collects payment and hands over the same to the Junior Assistant at the GP office. In order to improve citizen convenience and at the same time make the flow of cash more efficient and risk-free, the following collection channels and modes should be considered –

i. SHGs (cheques only) ii. Mobile service providers (through SMS-based payment solutions) iii. Direct payment at Treasury office (cash and cheque) iv. Drop boxes for cheques at GP office and CSCs

6.1.12. Asset Management

Process:

• Each PRI office at ZP, MP and GP should maintain an itemized inventory of all fixed assets (both IT-related and others) with a unique asset code

• The following information should be captured for each asset : Asset description, category, value, date of acquisition, maintenance schedule (adhoc or specified frequency) Type

• Any asset acquisition / disposal should be updated within 3 working days and the same must be approved by the official incharge of that office (CEO ZP, MPDO or PS)

• Asset summary reports should be generated on a quarterly basis and shared with the next level of PR • Physical onsite verification of the assets stated in the latest asset summary report should be conducted

once in six months and the outcome documented.



6.1.13. Citizen Awareness

Process:

• Information on Scheme benefits, mode of delivery and eligibility for application should be made available in an concise and easy-to-use formats such as post card size cards, pamphlets etc to citizens in local language,

• Prominent citizens within the village community (such as Headmaster, Aanganwadi workers, SHG members) should be used to generate awareness of new schemes

• Posters containing details of all current schemes (written/printed in a large font size in Telugu) should be pasted outside the GP office as well as at key locations where citizen traffic is generally high (local market, Aanganwadi center, Local school, PHCs etc )

• Citizen charter should be updated with the list of services offered at the GP office along with the stipulated timelines

6.1.14. Maintenance of Drinking Water Assets

• A record of drinking water assets must be maintained both offline as well as online through the NPP capturing the following information : Location, Type of asset, Water source, Coverage (no of households covered), capacity etc

• The record must be reconciled with an onsite verification once a year • Asset-wise maintenance schedule, past record, results and corrective action taken should be

documented and uploaded online as well



6.2. Re-engineered Government to Citizen Service Delivery Processes

6.2.1. Sanction of water tap connection (Existing service)

6.2.1.1. To -Be Process Map



6.2.1.2. Pre-requisites

• Centralized Citizen Database at DP level having integration with the ePanchayat Application • Collation of existing data from all the Gram Panchayats • Dependencies: • Timely receipt of service fees

6.2.1.3. Legal Changes

No legal change required for this service

6.2.1.4. Process Narration

Sanction of private water tap connection Sub-processes

• Application acceptance • Sanction of tap connection (GP meeting) • Collection of charges • Providing the tap connection

Process Owner

Gram Panchayat

Primary Actors (PR Officials, Citizens, etc.) Secondary Actors (Non – PR, Other Agencies if any, Line department)

Panchayat Secretary, Junior Assistant, Waterman, Citizens

NA




• Application is standard format (online or physical form)

• Service Charge

• Computerized sanction letter • Computer generated Miscellaneous Receipt (MR)


Prescribed delivery time: • 15 working days

Application and Databases Involved

Automated Components, systems, applications

• ePanchayat • Financial Accounting System

Databases • Citizen Database • Accounting Database (Cash Book)

Documents Involved

Registers • Inward register • Outward register

Format • Application form (physical copy as well as online) • Sanction letter format (online)


Others • NA



6.2.1.5. Escalation Matrix

Responsibility

Center

Service Delivery

Time (days)

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 No. of Days

from the application

date Designation

No. of Days from the first level

escalation date Designation

No. of Days from the second level escalation date

Designation

Panchayat Secretary

15 16 EO (PR&RD) 5 DPO 5 CEO

6.2.1.6. KPI, Critical Success Factors, Dependencies

S. No. KPI Description Unit of

Measurement Monitoring Authority

1 Time taken for delivering the service

Time required for issuing the Private Water Tap Sanction. This shall start from the time citizen submits the application to GP office / CSC till the issue of sanction / advice to the citizen.

Days • EO (PR&RD) • DPO

2 Time taken for providing the tap connection

Time required for fixing the Water Tap connection. This shall start from the time sanction letter is given to Waterman till he fixes the tap connection.

Days



6.2.1.7. Recommendations & Impact

Objectives O1 – Transparency & Accountability O2 – Improved Decision Making O3 – Improved Service Delivery to Citizens O4 – Internal Process Improvement (PRIs) O5 – Convenience to Govt. Employees O6 – Segregation of Duties

Recommendations Objectives

O1 O2 O3 O4 O5 O6 Process

1. Availability of online application ü ü

2. Introduction of Inward and Outward registers (physical copy) ü

3. Sanction letter to be made available in English as well as local language i.e., Telugu

ü

People

1. Introduction of role of Junior Assistant ü ü ü ü Technology

1. Introduction of online citizen database ü ü ü ü ü

2. Generation of certificate directly from the system ü ü ü ü



6.2.2. Inclusion of name in Voters’ list & issue of Voter ID card (New service)

6.2.2.1. To – Be Process Map



6.2.2.2. Pre-requisites

• Centralized Citizen Database at DP level having integration with the ePanchayat Application • Collation of existing data from all the Gram Panchayats

6.2.2.3. Legal Changes

• GP office to be application receipt point and service delivery point for voter ID

6.2.2.4. Process Narration

Inclusion of name in Voters’ list and issue of Voter ID card Sub-processes

• Application acceptance • Collection of charges • Referring to Tahsildar for further processing • Issue of Voter ID card

Process Owner

Gram Panchayat

Primary Actors (PR Officials, Citizens, etc.) Secondary Actors (Non – PR, Other Agencies if any, Line department)

Junior Assistant, Citizens Tahsildar


• Application is standard format (online or physical form)

• Photographs (pp size), Copy of age proof, Copy of residence roof

• Voter ID card




Prescribed delivery time: • 7 working days

Application and Databases Involved

Automated Components, systems, applications • ePanchayat

Databases • Citizen Database

Documents Involved

Registers • Inward register • Outward register

Format • Application form (physical copy as well as online)


Others • NA

6.2.2.5. Escalation Matrix

Responsibility

Center

Service Delivery

Time (days)

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 No. of Days

from the application

date Designation

No. of Days from the first level

escalation date Designation

No. of Days from the second level escalation date

Designation

Panchayat Secretary

7 8 EO (PR&RD)

5 DPO 5 CEO

6.2.2.6. KPI, Critical Success Factors, Dependencies

S. No.

KPI Description Unit of Measurement

Monitoring Authority

1 Time taken for forwarding the

Time required for forwarding the application to Tahsildar for processing. This shall start from the time citizen

Days • EO (PR&RD)



application submits the application to GP office / CSC till the application is forwarded to Tahsildar.

• DPO

2 Time taken for delivering the service

Time required for issuing the voter ID card. This shall start from the time citizen submits the application to GP office / CSC till the issue of card.

Days

3 Number of escalations Number of escalations happening in case of delays in service delivery and/or errors in the card

Number

6.2.2.7. Recommendations and Impact

Objectives O1 – Transparency & Accountability

O2 – Improved Decision Making O3 – Improved Service Delivery to Citizens O4 – Internal Process Improvement (PRIs) O5 – Convenience to Govt. Employees O6 – Segregation of Duties

Recommendations Objectives O1 O2 O3 O4 O5 O6

Process

1. Availability of online application ü ü

2. Introduction of Inward and Outward registers (physical copy) ü

People

1. Introduction of role of Junior Assistant and VRO ü ü ü ü

2. Service to be delivered by Panchayat Secretary ü ü ü

Technology

1. Introduction of online citizen database ü ü ü ü ü



6.3. Capacity Building

To enhance the overall functioning of PRIs, it is mandatory to improvise key aspects and bridge important gaps related to capacity. This section aims to provide a roadmap for the same through robust capacity development by way of interventions in expertise and skill development of PRI personnel in relation to the responsibilities and tasks they need to undertake, structural changes in the organization structure and manpower requirements.

6.3.1. To-Be Organization Structure - Structural changes

Based on the gaps analysed in the organization structure in the section (5.2.3.1) above, following are the proposed modifications in the organization structure at district and mandal level: District level: Scheme / Project oriented

• Separate section under purview of an expert such as ‘Project manager,’ should be formed to assist CEO in monitoring and supervising the scheme and non-scheme related activities. Other development works related activities such as Planning (Section G under Dy. CEO) are also recommended to be devolved under Project Manager. This would ensure effective planning and execution of the works, as the complete trail of project from initiation to its completion would be under the purview of single head.

Administrative oriented

• Roles and responsibilities of Dy. CEO should be revised and updated, so that he can assist CEO by monitoring the ZP administrative activities under different sections during his absence.

• Activities of same nature should be streamlined and reorganized / rearranged under the respective sections as given below:

i. Dy. CEO – Responsible for establishment related activities, under the Sections A and E. He would additionally be responsible for monitoring the works of other ZP sections to assist CEO and act as In-Charge of ZP PR activities in absence of CEO.

ii. Project manager – Responsible for scheme and non scheme related works such as under Section G. In addition to this, it is proposed that an additional section – Section L, for monitoring and supervising the proposed development works should be formed under the purview of Project manager.

iii. Accounts Officer – Responsible for accounts related activities, as executed under Sections B, C, D, F, H, I, K

• Post of Education officer is thus dissolved and the related activities/ sections are distributed under respective section heads – Accounts Officer and Dy. CEO

• Based on the above suggestions, modified organization structure is represented in the figure 7 below:



Figure 7: Proposed Organization structure - ZP

Mandal level: Administration oriented

• An assistant to MPDO is recommended, who would be Officer / Assistant in-charge of MP administrative activities in absence of MPDO. This would assist MP functioning in following ways:

i. Officer / Assistant in-charge would assist MPDO in the administrative activities, enabling MPDO to focus on monitoring and supervising the development works and conducting tours and related activities;

ii. Reducing the involvement of MPDO in day-to-day establishment-related matters– Currently Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant report individually for different subject matters to MPDO. Assistant In charge to MPDO would co-ordinate with MP staff members for the respective activities and supervise their work and would be act as a single point of contact for MPDO

iii. Co-ordinate with line departments such as Education officer, IKP etc to update for the works and update MPDO for the same

Based on the above suggestions, the proposed organization structure at mandal level is as represented in

the Figure 8 below:

CEO ZP

Establishment(Under Dy. CEO)

Accounts OfficerProject manager

Section G Planning

Section L Monitoring/ Reporting

Section F ZP PF

Section C ZP PF

Section D Accounts

Section H ZP PF

Section I ZP PF

Section A Establish

ment

Chairperson ZP

Dy. CEO ZP

Section K Pensions

Section B Education Establish

ment

Section E Non-teaching staff



Figure 8: Proposed Organization structure - MP

6.3.2. Capabilities - Manpower

To overcome the manpower need at each level for execution of the desired functions , requirements are discussed under three categories – Manpower required to fill the vacancies in current structure, Additional posts required in current structure and manpower required for an additional proposed category. Manpower required to be hired under these categories is proposed to be the permanent employees so as to increase reliability. i. Vacancies required to be filled in the current structure • Posts such as CEO, Dy. CEO, Accounts Officer, Education officer at district level which are currently

vacant, should firstly be targeted to be filled. • Similarly posts such as Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant which are the executive

authorities at district level, need to be filled to ensure equitable distribution of work among the staff members

ii. Additional posts required in the current structure Based on the analysis done in the previous section for the recommended organization structure and to streamline the functions and roles and responsibilities of PR officials, additional Superintendents and Sr. Assistants are proposed to be hired at district as well as mandal level to execute the functions in each section. • District level: A separate section for implementation and monitoring of the works is proposed, which

would need support staff in terms of additional Superintendents and Sr. Assistants. • Mandal level: A pyramidical organization structure is proposed at mandal level by broadening the base

at lower level, i.e. there is a need to hire additional Superintendents, Sr. Assistants and Jr. Assistants

MPP President

MPDO

Administrative

NREGS Staff

Accounts Establishment

Executive / Assistant to MPDO / In Charge

Extension staffPlanning / Implementation /

Monitoring / Reporting / Accounting

Engineering officer

EO (PR&RD)



iii. Additional categories required Following additional categories in the organization structure are proposed at mandal and district level: • Assistant for CEO and MPDO : It is mandatory that CEO and MPDO should conduct tours in the

district and mandals for assessing the development activities. Thus an assistant for them or an in-charge in absence of CEO and MPDO would ensure the smooth functioning of the office. Also, they can coordinate with different sections and monitor the work done by them

• Project manager – A project manager to coordinate with respective line departments and administrative staff in the respective offices is required to monitor the sectoral works such as planning, implementation, execution etc at district level, escalate matters as required and propose corrective actions

6.3.3. Capacities - Skill sets

Based on the challenges faced to execute the defined roles and responsibilities, as identified in the above (5.2.3.2) section, the skills required to be developed for each level are identified and categorized into three heads – Core functional skills, Technology related skills and soft skills. This section discusses the trainings required to be conducted to develop the desired skill sets for the identified personnel at each tier of PR. The table on the next page summarizes the skills required for PR officials at district, mandal and gram level.



ZPC CEO Dy. CEO AO Edn Officer Suptd Sr. / Jr.

Asst. MPP MPDO EO (PR&RD)

Engg Officer Suptd Sr. / Jr.

Asst. Sarpanch PS Jr. Asst

Budget preparation r a a a a a a r a a r a a r a aFinancial management a a a a a r r a a a r r r a a r

Data Analysis r r a a r a a r r a r a r r a a

Drafting government documents such as notices and circulars

r r a a a a a r r a r a a r a a

New technologies in constrution world r r r r r r r r r r a r r r r r

Refresher course for decentralized planning r a a r r a a r a a r a a r a a

Inter department coordination r a r r a r r r a a a r r r a r

Office administration r a a a a a a r a a r a a r a a

Knowledge about the committees and role of PR officials a a r r r r r a a r r r r a a r

Refresher course on new accounting system r a r a a a a r a a r a a r a a

Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act and Citizen charter r r a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

Brainstorming techniques r r a a a a r r r a r a r r a a

Softwares proposed for PR r a a a a a a r a a r a a r a aUsing internet, emails r a a a a a a r a a a a a r a aUpdating web portals r a a a a a r r a a r a r r a aOther basic softwares such as MS Office r a a a a a a r a a a a a r a a

Conducting effective meetings a a r r r r r a a r r r r a a r

Time management a a r r r r r a a a a a a r a r

Communication skills a a a r r r r a a r r r r a a r

Managerial skills r a a a a r r r a a r r r r a r

Performance Counseling skills and suggesting relevant trainings to sub ordinates

r a a a a r r a r a r r r r a r

Leadership quality a a a a a a r a a a a r r a a r

Creativity and problem solving technique r a a a a a r r a a r a r r a a

Conducting effective gram sabhas r r r r r r r r a a r r r a a r

Ecouraging community participation r r r r r r r r a a r r r a a r

Public speaking a a r r r r r a a a r r r a a r

Technology related

Soft skills

District level Mandal level Gram level

Core functional skils


A. Core functional skills 1. Budget preparation – Budget prepared for PR is a tied expenditure, thus budget preparation exercise

currently involves only an escalation of previous year’s budget. Actual demand for resources required for different sectors is not computed and this needs attention. Also, PR staff at mandal and gram level completely depends upon district level officials such as Superintendent. It is thus suggested that a defined approach for preparing the budget should be taught to the PR officials, so that the budget prepared could meet the actual demand for funds

2. Financial management – For efficient utilization of PR funds it is important that planning for the funds is done in an effective manner. To achieve this objective, officials such as CEO, Accounts officer, Education officer, MPDO, Panchayat secretary, and Bill collector and others involved in fund management should be trained on this subject. It is suggested that aspects such as Budgeting (PR funds and scheme funds), Planning, and monitoring are covered in this training.

3. Understanding and drafting government documents – It is seen that understanding and drafting government documents such as notices and circulars pose a challenge for the executive functionaries such as Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant at each level. This leads to the ineffective implementation of the crucial government orders and inadequate communication across tiers. Thus it is important that training on understanding and drafting government orders should be conducted for the identified PR officials.

4. New technologies in construction industry – Keeping oneself abreast of new construction technologies, is important for the Engineering officer, at mandal level, as he has to supervise the projects executed in the mandal. Thus a training for new technology updates is recommended for Engineering officer

5. Inter department coordination – Various schemes and projects are proposed by line departments in the district. It is thus suggested that a training for inter department coordination is given, which would detail out the modes, frequency and the aspects for coordinating with different line departments

6. Decentralized planning process and new accounting system – Training for decentralized planning process and new accounting system is already conducted, but it is seen that PR officials are facing significant challenges while implementing these, especially at mandal and gram level. Thus a refresher course should be conducted for PR personnel for this

7. Knowledge about committees and role of PR official: Various committees are formed at district, mandal and gram level for effective implementation of the works. However, it is observed that most of these committees and their purpose is unknown to PR officials. Thus a training session for the committees with PR involvement, detailing out aspects such as objectives, stakeholders involved and their role, frequency of meeting etc, should be given at all levels

8. Office administration – All the registers and records are currently manually maintained by PR. These contain very vital information and thus it becomes essential that the process defined for the office administration should be followed as defined in the act. Currently except for the heads at each tier, the executive staff has limited knowledge about these aspects, thus training for office administration should


be given to Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant and Typist at district and mandal level and Panchayat secretary and Junior assistant at gram level

9. Data analysis – PR officials are involved in planning related activities such as BRGF funds, General funds, schemes etc, thus it is essential that the various data sets such as fund utilization, requirement, etc should be defined and analyzed before planning. Thus this training should be made mandatory for the above target group identified

10. Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act and citizen charter – It is felt that awareness of the relevant subjects covered under these acts should be taught to the PR officials, as these detail out the roles and responsibilities of PR staff, rules and regulations to be followed for subjects such as budgeting, planning etc. Thus it is considered as one of the mandatory trainings for the PR officials

B. Technology related skills To align with the objective of ePRI, it is essential that all the officials are competent to use PR related software and can efficiently use other computer applications and internet. In view of this following technology related trainings should be given to PR officials: 1. Softwares (Planplus, epmis and epanchayat) developed for PR –Training on these subjects has

been conducted once but due to limited assistance available during the implementation stage, there are issues faced by PR officials. Thus a refresher course for these trainings should be conducted. The level of training as per the role of official would vary accordingly. For instance, while CEO or MPDO should be trained from the supervisory or monitoring aspect, while Superintendent and lower staff members should be trained for execution related aspects.

2. Using internet / emails –It is seen that various activities such as updating works executed in the district under different schemes etc are available on the internet. However, due to lack of knowledge for using the internet, there is dependency on committee meetings for the updates on the status of works. Further, it is believed that activities such as correspondence, reporting etc can be channelised through emails, if PR staff is competent for the same. It would also help in maintenance of such records.

3. Trainings for basic computer applications (MS Office) – In addition to the softwares developed for PR, it is essential that knowledge of basic PC applications such as MS Office should be imparted to PR officials.

4. Updating web portals – PR officials lack the technical skills for using and updating web portals developed for PR. These provide access to relevant PR information, which is of importance to citizens.

C. Soft skills In addition to the core functional and technology related skills, developing soft skills as identified would enhance functioning of PR officials. 1. Conducting effective meetings – Committee meetings, general body meetings and review meetings,

forms the base for PR officials to co-ordinate with other line departments and to update on the status of works. It thus becomes essential that effective meetings are conducted. It is thus suggested that training for conducting the meeting should be given, so that they could utilize the time efficiently.


2. Time management – Superior performance in managing multiple tasks such as monitoring the projects, conducting meetings, supervising the internal office administration etc, requires proper time management. This training is suggested to help an individual to focus on key issues in their daily functioning through effective prioritization.

3. Planning tours – Conducting tours is an essential activity for PR officials to update on the status of works and to assess the development works. It is important that tours are planned efficiently so that the CEO/ MPDO/ EO (PR&RD) can cover the area under their jurisdiction

4. Communication skills - This training should focus on guiding the identified participants for the effective verbal and non verbal communication, so that message is conveyed properly.

5. Managerial skills – CEO / Dy. CEO/ MPDO/ EO (PR&RD) and PS have a challenging role for the office administration and people management. Supervision of the team with appropriate instruction and inspiration can achieve quality results in the tasks performed.

6. Performance Counseling skills – Primary purpose of this training is to define PR objectives and values, discussing individual job expectations and performance, identifying and rectifying work related behavior and enhancing the employee’s ability to execute the roles and responsibilities identified. Thus providing constructive feedback to the staff for improving the performance becomes essential for the staff and improving their output

7. Leadership quality – this program aims to guide the participant to manage a large group and to streamline the thought process of the group to achieve the target

8. Conducting effective gram sabha – Gram sabha is the only platform available for PR officials for interacting with the villagers and thus it is essential that gram sabhas with focused agenda is conducted to have the desired output. Aspects such as managing crowd, public speaking, circulating the agenda etc are covered in this training

9. Encouraging community participation in gram sabhas – Gram sabha is the only platform available for PR to take villagers’ opinion about their needs and planning for the desired works. But, it is observed that this participation is limited. It thus becomes essential that skills to encourage community participation through techniques such as anonymous methods, informal interactions, organizing skits/ plays/ songs etc are developed in the identified target group.

6.3.4. Capabilities - Training

The proposed trainings are classified under three heads – Core functional skills, Technology related skills and Soft skills. These are detailed out with respect to their objective, target group, delivery mode and type of training. In addition, following aspects should be taken care of, to achieve the desired objectives: 1. Department hierarchy – Objective of a training varies with department hierarchy, for instance, senior

official or the department head would play a supervisory role for a software application while the juniors would need to excel at implementation / execution. Thus all the trainings identified would be separately conducted for the identified groups:


a. Group A –CEO, Dy. CEO, Accounts officer, Education officer, MPDO and PS. Focus of training for this group is to create awareness of PR function so that they can supervise and effectively implement the softwares or new process proposed for PR

b. Group B – Superintendent, Sr Assistant and Jr. Assistant. Implementation aspects for execution of a task are emphasized in the training conducted for this group

2. Performance evaluation – Yearly targets for performance improvements will be identified for each PR official (by senior) and respective trainings will be identified. Also, participant should be evaluated by respective seniors to assess the improvement in their performance post the training. A standard performance evaluation format may be shared with the seniors to assess the performance.

3. Refresher course – Though trainings for PR act, RTI act, etc are conducted once, however, there is a need for refresher courses. Thus these are suggested to be imparted through ‘Self study’ mode and will be available online.

4. Pre-requisite for web based / Self study mode of training – Training for using internet applications such as emails should be conducted before conducting trainings under this category.

5. For all IT based trainings such as PR applications and softwares, a call centre or online help (similar to that for RAGAS software maintained and managed by TCS), should be available to guide participants for the queries / issues raised during implementation / execution. In addition, training manual or a working guide should be available to participants in English and regional language for reference purpose.

6. To enhance the transparency in the roles and responsibilities of the elected representatives and PR officials, it is suggested that trainings such as knowledge about committees, PR Act, RTI act etc should be conducted together.



Training Target group Objective of the training Delivery mode

(Instructor led / self study)

Type of training (Hands on exercise / CBT /

Group discussions) A. Core functional skills Budget preparation ZP – CEO, Dy.

CEO, Accounts officer, Superintendent, Sr. / Jr. Assistant MP level – MPDO, Superintendent, Sr. / Jr. Assistant and Typist GP level – PS, Jr. Assistant

• Procedure for budget preparation

• Aspects to consider in planning for budget preparation

Instructor led CBT - Hands on exercise,

Financial management

ZP level – ZP chairman, CEO, Dy. CEO, Accounts officer, Education officer, MP level – MPP MPDO, EO (PR&RD) GP level – Sarpanch, PS

• Analyze and assess the fund requirement in different sectors

• Adequate allocation of funds available from different sources – General funds, line department funds

• Formulate template for fund planning

Instructor led Group discussions – Participatory exercises





Group discussions) Data Analysis ZP level – Dy.

CEO, Accounts officer, Superintendent MP level – MPDO, Superintendent GP level – PS, Jr. Assistant

• Evaluate and analyze data sources for planning and allocation of funds in a specific sector and region

Instructor led Hands on exercise

Drafting Government documents such as Notices and circulars

ZP level –Dy. CEO, Accounts officer, Education officer Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant MP level – MPDO, Superintendent, Sr.Assistant GP level – PS, Jr. Assistant

Understand the types and purpose of notice/ circular, common elements such as Date, providing the reference number, subject, person to address etc.


New technologies in construction

MP level – Engineering officer

Update oneself with new construction technologies and for the project management

Instructor led Audio Visual





Group discussions) Showcasing case studies

Inter department coordination

ZP level – CEO, Education officer MP level –MPDO GP level – PS

Improvise coordination between PR and other line departments for better implementation of schemes and works

Instructor led Group discussions and other participatory techniques

Awareness - Decentralized planning (Refresher course)

ZP level - CEO, Dy. CEO, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant MP level - MPDO, EO (PR&RD), Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant GP level – PS and Jr. Assistant

• Understand the decentralized planning process and objectives

• Ensure that process is implemented as planned

• Introductory session for using Planplus software – Objective and components covered in the software

Instructor led Group discussions and hands on exercise for Planplus software

Awareness - Knowledge about committees

ZP level – ZP Chairman, CEO, MP level – MPP, MPDO, GP level – Sarpanch, PS

• Objective of the committee and its frequency of meeting

• Stakeholders involved in the meeting and their role

Self study It is suggested that it should be a web based mandatory learning

CBT

Awareness - Office ZP level – CEO, • Training for procedure to be Self study CBT





Group discussions) administration Dy. CEO,

Accounts officer, Education officer Superintendent, Sr. / Jr. Assistant MP level – MPDO, EO (PR&RD), Superintendent, Sr. / Jr. Assistant and Typist GP level - PS and Jr. Assistant

followed for office management such as record and register maintenance, etc.

It is suggested that it should be a web based mandatory learning

Refresher course – Accounting system,

ZP level – AO, Superintendent, Sr. / Jr. Assistant Mp level - Superintendent, GP level -

• To implement the new accounting system introduced by PR


Awareness – Relevant sections of APPR act, RTI act, Citizen charter

ZP level – ZP chairman, Dy. CEO, AO, Education officer, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr.

• Knowledge about relevant sections of PR such as rules for taxation etc., roles and responsibilities etc

Self study CBT





Group discussions) Assistant MP level – MPP, MPDO, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant GP level – Sarpanch, PS, Jr. Assistant

B. Technology related Softwares developed for PR – Planplus, Accounts etc

ZP level – CEO, Dy. CEO, AO, Education officer, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant MP level – MPDO, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant GP level – PS and Jr. Assistant

Implement the PR works as planned to be executed, by using relevant softwares

Instructor led CBT

PR applications –ePanchayat, epmis

GP level – PS and Jr. Assistant

Execution of works in the applications developed for PR

Instructor led CBT





Group discussions) etc Using internet and emails

ZP level – CEO, Dy. CEO, AO, Education officer, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant MP level – MPDO, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant GP level – PS and Jr. Assistant

Improve electronic communication among PRIs

Instructor led CBT

Updating web portals

ZP level – CEO, Dy. CEO, AO, Education officer, Superintendent MP level – MPDO, Superintendent, GP level – PS

• Awareness on critical aspects such as sharing username and password, websites to update, frequency of updating the websites etc

• Enhance transparency by uploading the data

Instructor led CBT

Basic computer applications – MS office etc

ZP level – Dy. CEO, AO, Education officer,

Promote use of computers and enable a shift from manual procedures for doing routine works

Instructor led CBT





Group discussions) Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant MP level –MPDO, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant GP level – PS, Jr. Assistant

C. Soft skills Conducting effective meetings

ZP level – ZP Chairman, CEO MP level – MPP, MPDO

• Achieve desired output from the meeting by adequate planning, defining the agenda and ensuring presence of key stakeholders

Instructor led Group discussions and other participatory exercises

Time management ZP level – ZP Chairman, CEO, Dy. CEO MP level – MPP, MPDO, Engineering officer, GP level – PS

• Defining goals and linking them to plans

• Setting and prioritizing time for the identified plans

• Planning internal office work and tours






Group discussions) Communication skills

ZP level – ZP Chairman, CEO, Dy. CEO, AO, Education officer, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant and Jr. Assistant MP level – MPP< MPDO, Superintendent, Sr. Assistant, Jr. Assistant GP level – Sarpanch, PS and Jr. Assistant

• Learn body language and verbal communication

• Present information in an interesting way

• Office and meeting etiquette • Art of convincing others • Improve inter department

coordination


Managerial skills ZP level - CEO, Dy. CEO, Accounts officer, Education officer, MP level - MPDO, EO (PR&RD)

• Management skills • Delegation and role allocation • Role modeling and gaining

acceptance • Resolving conflict within teams


Performance Counseling skills and suggesting

ZP level - CEO, Dy. CEO, Accounts officer,

• Learn elements of good feedback

• Provide effective, consistent and






Group discussions) relevant trainings to sub ordinates

Education officer, MP level - MPDO, EO (PR&RD)

timely feedback • Deliver feedback that is

descriptive, specific and behavioral

Leadership quality ZP level – ZP Chairman, CEO, Dy. CEO, Accounts officer, Education officer, Superintendent MP level – MPP, MPDO, EO (PR&RD), Superintendent, GP level – Sarpanch, PS, Superintendent

• Learn team management • Build and motivate team for a

common task • Delegate work as per one’s

capability • Provide support to team

members to execute work


Creativity and problem solving techniques

ZP level – CEO, Dy CEO, AO, Education officer, Superintendent, MP level – MPDO, EO (PR&RD), Superintendent,

• Defining the problem • Systematic approach to problem

solving • Brainstorming techniques • Idea generation, selection and

implementation






Group discussions) GP level – PS,

Conducting effective gram sabhas

MP level –MPDO, EO (PR&RD) GP level – Sarpanch, PS

• Design survey samples / questionnaires

• Use of audio- visuals • Conducting effective gram sabha • Selecting volunteers in gram

sabha and assigning tasks to achieve agenda

• encouraging community participation through one to one interactions and open communication

• Managing a large gathering




6.4. Possible integration with selected NeGP initiatives

Following are the key initiatives of NeGP plan that can be considered for

integration with PR:

• Citizen Interface • Capacity • Connectivity through APSWAN • Content recovery

Figure 9: NeGP Dimensions

6.4.1. Internet connectivity

Currently PRIs either have broadband or dial up connectivity which does not efficiently support the IT applications such as citizen services etc.. Thus it is required that connectivity should be increased, preferably through APSWAN, which exists in all the districts in Andhra Pradesh, as an NeGP initiative. APSWAN connectivity at the district level is currently available for collector office and some line departments. PRIs at district level currently have broadband connection while majority of mandals and grams have dial up connection. This lacks efficiency in providing PR services, primarily due to poor speed / connectivity. APSWAN should be provided to all the three tiers of Panchayati Raj. Further, it is proposed that the speed for APSWAN should be increased at least up to 16 mbps so that it can support the online applications proposed for PRIs and can also be utilized for conducting online trainings and video conferences for PRIs. Since, extending APSWAN would be a time consuming and costly process, thus it is proposed to be extended in a phased manner as suggested below: • Phase I – Converting Dial-up connections to broadband connections at mandal and gram level and

providing SWAN connectivity at district level • Phase II – Providing SWAN connectivity to mandals as well as grams.

6.4.2. State Data Centers (SDC)

State data centers are created to consolidate services, applications, and infrastructure for ease on integration and efficient management. This would ensure that computing resources and the support connectivity infrastructure is adequately and optimally used by centralizing computing power. PRIs can align with SDC initiative, once they are connected to APSWAN.

NeGP Dimensions

Citizen Interface

(CSC / RSDP/ etc)

Capacity State Data

Centers (SDC)

Connectivity (SWAN)

Data Recovery (SDRC)



6.4.3. State Disaster Recovery Centers (SDRC)

State of Andhra Pradesh is currently in progress of developing Disaster Recovery Centers. These are usually linked to State Data Centers to retain the backup of data available with State Data centers. PRIs are suggested to be connected with the SDRC, to have 100% data backup in case of unforeseen events.

6.4.4. Citizen Service Centers

There are nearly 750 CSCs in Andhra Pradesh primarily at mandal level, to provide citizen services. Following are the recommendations for providing services using CSCs: • PR connectivity to CSCs should be established at mandal and gram level; • Establishing a CSC at gram level would be a time consuming process, thus it is recommended that

clustering of the grams should be done, where a common CSC could serve a cluster of villages. This would improve accessibility at gram level.

• An appropriate revenue sharing model should be studied before selecting the services that are provided through CSCs

6.4.5. State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG)

Under eforms MMP project floated by government, all government services are recommended to be provided through common portal of SSDG. This will be the common platform for providing all government services through IT channel. Thus state PR department should prepare for providing services through SSDG as and when it is completed.

6.4.6. National Panchayat Portal (NPP)

Panchayat portal provides a drill down upto gram level (for grams that are computerized primarily under ePanchayat project). This provides a platform for PRIs to leverage the opportunity for using this base to provide panchayat services or creating MIS through Panchayat portal. However, it should be integrated in such a manner that the applications / softwares are automatically updated.



6.5. E–enabled Scenario

In envisaging the e-enabled scenario, a To-Be framework as illustrated below is assumed that identifies various components of the PRI machinery enabled through eGovernance.

Figure 10: To-Be Framework

The following sub-sections shall detail out the components provided in the illustration.

The realization of the To-be scenario shall be a gradual process over a period of time with focused efforts towards creating impact that is not just immediate but also sustainable in future. The e-enabled scenario also acknowledges the present constraints of the PRI infrastructure and capacities and the current and future plans of NeGP for expanding the infrastructure to the grassroots. The e-enabled scenario as explained further in this report thus identifies two phases across which the To-Be Framework shall be established. The immediate or short term comprising of next two years shall focus on leveraging existing infrastructure and making incremental investments while the long term, in 3 to 5 years, shall look at newer infrastructure that will be established through NeGP or by State PR department themselves.

CLM

s

Planning

Fund Managem

ent

Implementation

Mon

itori

ng &

Rep

ortin

g

Application receipt

Status Tracking

Service Delivery

Components

FormAvailability

Payment

Delivery /Collection

Information

SupportComponents

Work Flow

Engine

TrainingsAccounting

Gram Sabha Mgmt.

Resource Mgmt.

Audit

Asset Mgmt.

Grievance Redressal

Office Automation

Escalations WorkDistribution

Infrastructure

Citizen Interface (G2C)

kiosks Call centre

Gov

ernm

ent I

nter

face

(G2G

)

Internet / State Portal

MIS

Business Interface (G

2B)

Stateportal

Panchayat G

harFinancial

institutionsC

SCD

istr

ict

adm

nSt

ate

Line

dept

sSt

ate

PR d

ept /

PRIs

File Mgmt.

Panchayat Ghar CSC Mobilehttp://

Software ApplicationsDatabases

Disaster Recovery SWANState Data Centre Last Mile Connectivity

Mobile Van



6.5.1. Service Access & Delivery Channels and associated models

The key design dimensions considered for the identification of citizen service delivery channels are

• Depth of Services • Breadth of access While the BPR Volume II report established the re-engineered services for the PRIs in Andhra Pradesh, the nature of services that service delivery channels should cater to not just the transactional services but also informational services. The dimension of depth of services helps us to categorize the nature of services possible in the e-Enabled scenario as shown in the illustration below. While providing maximum outreach of services may be the primary objective, the degree or breadth of access of services vary with the nature of services. For example, information on applicable schemes applicable in many cases sought only by citizens residing in the village or region hence the services requires lower breadth of access. At the same time, service related to request for Birth Certificates could have greater breadth of access as the villager would have migrated to urban or other areas during her or his lifetime. Following illustration presents the portfolio of services identified for Andhra Pradesh PRIs across the two dimensions

Figure 11: Nature of services

Low Medium

Offl

ine

Offl

ine

Rea

l-tim

e

High

Rea

l-tim

eIn

form

atio

n Se

rvic

esTr

ansa

ctio

nal S

ervi

ces

Dept

h of

Ser

vice

s

Breadth of Access



Figure 12: Nature of PRI services for AP

Similarly, based on the nature of services helps in effective positioning of the various service delivery channels thus in turn helping us identify the services that each channel can cater to. Following illustration provides the coverage of a various types of channels.

Low Medium

Offl

ine

Offl

ine

Rea

l-tim

e

High

Rea

l-tim

eIn

form

atio

n Se

rvic

esTr

ansa

ctio

nal S

ervi

ces

Dep

th o

f Ser

vice

s

Breadth of Access

Birth, Death, Marriage certificatesBirth, Death, Marriage Registration

No Dues Certificate

Layout Permissions

Change of name in demand register (on property mutation)

Building Approval

Property Valuation certificate

House Ownership certificate

NOC for electricity

Private Water Tap Connections

Ration Card update

Trade Licenses

RTI

Nativity, Caste, Incomes certificates

Job Card Issuance

Voter IDHealth parameters registration

Information on Taxes/Fees dueInformation on Schemes

Information/Announcements on PRI specific events



Figure 13: Service Coverage through different channels

Prioritization of Service Delivery Channels for Rollout: In order to identify the channels that need to be deployed in immediate/short term and long-term, Feasibility–Criticality assessment as depicted in the illustration was adopted. The factors towards assessment of feasibility and critical respectively include: 1. Feasibility

a. Readiness and reliability (QoS) of enabling infrastructure b. Cost effectiveness vis-à-vis its alternatives

2. Criticality a. Need in the area of access b. Lack of alternatives in the given coverage area c. Expected Availability of the proposed service delivery

channel (through NeGP)

Figure 14 : Feasibility - Criticality

Panchayat G

har/Office

CSCs/ eSeva

Low Medium

Offl

ine

Offl

ine

Rea

l-tim

e

High

Rea

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form

atio

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rvic

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ansa

ctio

nal S

ervi

ces

Dep

th o

f Ser

vice

s

Breadth of Access

Kiosks

Online/ Internet

Call C

enter

Mobiles

Hold Pursue Now / Later

Long Term Short Term

High

Criticality

Feas

ibili

ty

Low High

Low



Figure 15: Timelines for introducing delivery modes

While the illustration above clear identifies certain service delivery channels in short term and long terms, the decision of rollout on service delivery channels in quadrant – “Pursue Now or Later” namely Kiosks and Mobile is based on regional constraints like available connectivity of network and mobile service providers. In case of Kiosks its criticality is based on presence of panchayats personnel in the village and could be an alternative source of information if full-time presence of the panchayats personnel is a challenge. Setting up channels like Call Center may address the informational services needs of citizens and businesses but however entail high investments and has dependency of streamlining the PRI information across the state. Hence the State PR may like to hold the initiative for long term and assess the feasibility again in future before adoption. In case of mobile van – A vehicle that can regularly visit interior areas of state where there is hitherto no panchayats office and staff for the purpose of offering certain key services. Moreover, with the clustering of villages being undertaken, such a satellite service could make up of the reduced proximity of the gram panchayats offices. However, the initiative may be put on hold and assessed again in future as it appears to be less feasible and critical in the present situation.

Hold Pursue Now / Later

Long Term Short Term

High

Criticality

Feas

ibili

ty

Low High

Low

Panchayat OfficeCSCs at Gram Level

eSevas at Mandal level

Kiosks

Mobile

State Wide Call Center

Online Portal

Mobile Van



Given the success and proliferation of Velugu Self Help Groups, State PR could pursue the additional avenue it provides for service delivery especially in villages where there is no panchayat office. Creating a network of Velugu Officials/Volunteers who could in turn work back with the panchayat officials in the nearby cluster could also help improve breadth of access. Velugu Officials today work with panchayat officials in identification of beneficiaries and issuance of benefits for schemes like IGNOAPS. While the future state considers the possibility of newer service delivery channels, Gram Panchayat Office continues to remain as key channel for service delivery and hence the primary focus shall on enabling Gram Panchayat Offices in better service delivery through other components as presented below

SNo Component Description 1. Information Provision This Component will handle dissemination of Information

only. Lack of information was found to be a key impediment in availing of services without issues and on time.

2. Forms Standardized Application Forms must be easily and readily available to any citizen. This component must align with the Forms Submission component, i.e. the forms must be available wherever they have to be submitted.

3. Application Receipt This Component will handle submission of the application, including the form and the relevant documents. As the component exits operation, it would generate a receipt for the applicant which contain a registration number for status tracking, date of application, department responsible, summary of supporting docs submitted etc.

4. Payment Receipt This Component will handle all the payments

5. Application Verification This Component will allow the district administration to make decisions regarding the claim or request of the applicant based on submitted documents and / or databases.

6. Application Rejection This Component will ensure that when an application is rejected, an appropriate reason is provided to the applicant and that the document be duly signed by the rejecting authority.

7. Application Approval This Component will handle the signing of the deliverables like certificates, ration cards etc.

8. Application Delivery This Component will handle the delivery of the signed and valid deliverable to the citizen



9. Status Tracking This Component will retrieve and update the status of an application. The component will need to retrieve the information about a file and update it online or on the IVRS tracking system or in the application where a functionary can view it.

6.5.2. Software Application Modules recommended

The previous section could provide an overview the service delivery channels to establish external interfaces for the PRI especially for interface with citizens. However, in order to automate service delivery, internal functions of the PRI and also the inter-departmental functions and workflows, a portfolio of software applications have been identified across various areas as listed below:



S.No Software Application At Tier Area Purpose 1. Integrated Finance & Accounts module

• Planning & Budgeting • General Ledger o With Chart of Accounts and Coded Rules &

Controls for Accounting entries • Accounts Payable • Accounts Receivable

GP/MP/ZP Finance & Accounts

Enable faster and effective budgeting, and improved financial management

2. Personnel Management • Payroll and PF • Employee Master • Training Module o Employee training plan o Training calendar for PRI o Post Training assessments

• Performance Management

MP/ZP

(MP Personnel Management Module can

maintain details of GP staff too)

Personnel/ HR

Process salaries and pensions in an accurate and efficient manner

3. Scheme Management • with inter PRI and external stakeholder interface • similar to RAGAS software used for NREGA

MP/ZP Schemes Plan, execute, monitor and evaluate schemes



S.No Software Application At Tier Area Purpose 4. Geographic Information System (GIS)

• Base Maps o Road Networks o Water Bodies and Man-made fixed assets o Wards o Buildings o Administration Boundaries o Habitats - Demographic profile o Cropping patterns

• Interface with Schemes - Works Mapping • Interface with Fixed Asset Register • Interface with Villagers and Beneficiary database

GP/MP/ZP Asset Management

- Comprehensive GIS comprising base maps containing spatial information regarding road networks, water bodies and man made fixed assets, wards, buildings, habitats, cropping patterns, scheme-related works undertaken etc - Map existing assets to plan future works more effectively.

5. Fixed Asset Management • Asset Master • Assetization of Works • Scheduled and Unscheduled O&M workflows

GP/MP/ZP Ensure visibility and control of existing assets

6. Online Registers • Demand Register and all other registers (permanent or

time-based) • Maker-Checker and Approval Workflows

GP/MP/ZP Register Management

Online access, control and maintenance of key registers



Central MIS: Apart from the above transaction information systems, a central MIS application on all aspects of functioning of PRI shall be deployed at Gram, Mandal and Zilla Parishad levels. The MIS shall be online 3-tier based application with access to centralized operation data stores of all the transaction system and with strong data integrity, access controls and privileges. The MIS application shall offer standard periodic reports and also user-custom reports for users to view to specific information. The MIS shall support query based report generation for end users. The following illustration presents the arrangement of applications and data stores along with Central MIS at any tier of PRI

Figure 16 - Application Landscape at a PRI Tier

All the applications shall have a 3-tier web-based architecture with a loosely coupled presentation and business layers. The Internal user interface shall be Intranet Portal based with Process integration modules as depicted above.

Users Interfacing Applications Core Applications & Databases

Middle Ware Integration Modules

Scheme Management

Asset Management

Users at base tier

Key Users at Higher Tier(s) Online MIS

Online Intranet Portal

GIS Interface Finance & Accounts

Personnel Management

Online Registers

Spatial Database (GIS)

Villager & Beneficiary Database

External Information Database

Central Operational Database

Identity Management Workflows Portal Content

ManagementPortal Content Managementemail



6.5.3. Common Databases recommended

Central Operational Datastore - As depicted in the illustration above, all transaction/operation data shall be stored in a centralized data store (RDMS based). This enables in data integrity and unified view of data. The datastore shall also be the key database for the MIS application Village and Beneficiary database – At gram level a well-defined and access-controlled database with key information on all villagers shall be maintained. Details like their Name, family, property, income, caste, etc shall be maintained and entry or update of data shall be through a well defined process with strong controls. The same database can maintain information of beneficiaries for various schemes thus maintaining an consolidated view of villagers and their access to schemes. Integrity of this database can contribute significantly in errors and malpractices in equitable distribution of benefits to the villagers. Spatial Database – All the GIS base maps with data points shall be maintained in this database. The same shall be accessed and updated as and when required External Information Database – Apart from PRI generating their own data, it may have occasional access to third party data from agencies like AWC, VRO, other line departments. Such data when incoroproted into PRI systems could enhance the decision making within PRI. Hence a database that can store such information which can be accessed by applications in PRI shall also be maintained.

6.5.4. Infrastructure recommended

6.5.4.1. Civil Infrastructure

AP PR Dept shall have to procure AP State Datacenter and DR site space and management services for the deployment of the server side infrastructure. In long term as all server side infrastructure shall be consolidated at State Data Center, the space requirements in these 2 sites shall increase. In short term, due to the decentralized setup, server space shall be required at ZP and MP locations with proper power supply (primary and backup) and HVAC setup as required for the IT infrastructure. Strong Civil Structure Power supply backup (for min 2 hours) and AC temperature control shall be required at GP offices for hosting the IT Infrastructure.

6.5.4.2. IT Infrastructure recommended

Deployment Model:

The deployment of IT applications and enabling ICT infrastructure across 3 tiers of PRI is driven by following factors: 1. Business Need for usage of applications



2. Connectivity available at each tier While the deployment of IT may not immediately lead to increase usage and dependency on IT systems given the readiness of staff currently, it is however important for the success of eGovernance that PRI adopt IT and increase its dependence on IT at the earliest. Hence the business need to use IT application could be assumed to high. Quality and availability of connectivity is also a key factor in determining the deployment of ICT infrastructure at grassroots level. As the AP ISNA report could indicate the connectivity issues at Gram and Mandal level. While centralized architecture in turn rationalized IT investments, staffing and effective management of IT assets, adopting such architecture for applications at these tiers shall reduce the effectives of such applications due to lack of connectivity. Hence alternatives options of stand-alone/decentralized and hybrid architectural models should be considered. The table below illustrates the deployment models that could be adopted at each tier in short term and long term based on the connectivity situation prevalent today and its expected improvement in future. We expect the connectivity to improve with increased proliferation and bandwidth of APSWAN towards connecting CSCs and Panchayats at block and gram level

PR Tier Deployment Model

Year 1 and 2 Year 3

ZP Level Hybrid Model – Centralized at Region • Dedicated centralized server side

infrastructure at State Capital (for all ZPs in state)

• Local Backup stand-alone infrastructure at ZP office

Centralized Model – Centralized at State • Dedicated centralized server side

infrastructure at State Capital (for all ZPs in state)

• Only basic stand-alone Local Backup Server infrastructure

MP Level Hybrid Model – Centralized at District • Dedicated centralized server side

infrastructure at ZP (for all MPs in ZP) • Local Backup Server infrastructure at MP

office

Centralized Model – Centralized at State • Dedicated centralized server side

infrastructure at State Capital (for all MPs in state)

• Only Basic stand-alone Local Backup Server infrastructure

GP Level Hybrid Model – Centralized at Block • Local Stand-alone infrastructure at GP office • Dedicated centralized server side

infrastructure at MP (for all GPs in MP) OR

• Offline data upload and download if a

Centralized Model - Centralized at State • Dedicated centralized server side

infrastructure at State Capital (for all GPs in state)

• Only basic stand-alone Local Backup Server infrastructure



dedicated GP-MP link cannot be established

Hence in the short term the Server side IT infrastructure shall be distributed across Tiers. The locations for hosting the ICT server side infrastructure at Zilla, Block and Gram level shall be identified. As this may lead to large scale infrastructure procurement and deployment, the sizing of such infrastructure shall be basic as the volumes of transactions in the first few years may not be much. The Online Portal interface of GP and MP shall be maintained state central location and the requests could be routed offline to respective GP and MP offices for response through email or internal workflow application accessible on limited connectivity at their ends. However, in long term large scale server side infrastructure shall be deployed centrally at State Data Center and State Disaster Recovery center. All GP, MP and ZP portals shall be centralized and the requests shall be routed automatically to respective office internally over SWAN. Network Connectivity: While the key network backbone for connectivity shall be APSWAN, the last mile connectivity and connectivity at block and Gram level where SWAN shall not be available could be procured from private Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Options like Leased line, Wireless and VSAT based last mile connectivity are available for connecting from office locations to SWAN and ISP’s Network. Following depicts the network deployment in short term and long term

Figure 17 - Network Deployment - Short Term

MP

State SWAN Network

State Data Centre

State Data Centre

State Disaster Recovery Centre


ZP

Firewall

GP

AP PR Dept

Private Internet Service Provider

Leased Line

Leased Line



Figure 18 - Network Deployment - Long Term

MP

State SWAN Network

State Data Centre

State Data Centre



ZP

GP

AP PR Dept

CSCs

Kiosks at Villages

Primary LinkSecondary Link

Leased LineVSATWireless

- Last Mile ConnectivityLegend



Locations Year 1 and 2 Year 3

Type Item Type Item GP/MP/ZP/AP PR dept offices

End User Computing

Desktops End User Computing

Desktops Printers Printers Scanners Scanners Fascimiles Fascimiles

Network Router Network Router Switches & Hubs Switches & Hubs Broad Band Modem VSAT/Wireless Terminal/

Leased Line Modem Lan Cabling Lan Cabling

Server & Storage Mid Range Application Servers

Server & Storage Entry Level Backup Servers (App & DB servers)

Mid Range Database Servers

Security Firewall Security Firewall Anti-Virus Anti-Virus Backup Server Backup Server

State Data Center Servers Application Servers (Mid

Range) Servers Application Servers

(Enterprise Class) Database Servers (Mid Range)

Database Servers (Enterprise Class)

Network Router Network Router L3 Switches L3 Switches Switches & Hubs Switches & Hubs

Storage SAN Storage Storage SAN Storage SAN Switches SAN Switches Tape Drives Tape Drives

Security Firewall - Stateful Inspection


IDPS IDPS Anti-Virus Anti-Virus Back-up Server Back-up Server

Others Syslog Server Others Syslog Server



Key Items of ICT Infrastructure shall include:


Type Item Type Item GP/MP/ZP/AP PR dept offices

End User Computing

Desktops End User Computing

Desktops Printers Printers Scanners Scanners Fascimiles Fascimiles

Network Router Network Router Switches & Hubs Switches & Hubs Broad Band Modem VSAT/Wireless Terminal/

Leased Line Modem Lan Cabling Lan Cabling

Server & Storage Mid Range Application Servers

Server & Storage Entry Level Backup Servers (App & DB servers)

Mail Server Mail Server Softwares Softwares

UPS UPS State DR Site

Servers Application Servers (Mid Range)

Servers Application Servers (Enterprise Class)

Database Servers (Mid Range)






IDPS IDPS Anti-Virus Anti-Virus

Others Syslog Server Others Mail Server Mail Server Softwares Softwares




Type Item Type Item Mid Range Database Servers

Security Firewall Security Firewall Anti-Virus Anti-Virus Backup Server Backup Server

State Data Center Servers Application Servers (Mid

Range) Servers Application Servers

(Enterprise Class) Database Servers (Mid Range)






IDPS IDPS Anti-Virus Anti-Virus Back-up Server Back-up Server

Others Syslog Server Others Syslog Server

Mail Server Mail Server Softwares Softwares

UPS UPS State DR Site

Servers Application Servers (Mid Range)

Servers Application Servers (Enterprise Class)

Database Servers (Mid Range)



Storage SAN Storage Storage SAN Storage




Type Item Type Item SAN Switches SAN Switches Tape Drives Tape Drives



IDPS IDPS Anti-Virus Anti-Virus

Others Syslog Server Others Mail Server Mail Server Softwares Softwares

6.6. Best Practices

State Best Practice Rationale Customised for AP

Maharashtra ISO 9001:2000 Certification for ZPs

Under ISO certification, every department / section needs to document the following: • Organisation structure • Responsibility and

escalation matrix • Functions • Processes, process maps

and process description • Templates / formats • Departmental targets • improvements

ISO certification can be done in phased manner. In phase I, ZPs can be considered for ISO certification and in phase II, the certification can be extended to MPs.

Gujarat Gram Mitra: A cadre of 5 youths per Gram Panchayat is identified under this Scheme and is paid Rs. 10,000 per month to assist in implementing the Government Schemes at the Village Level.

Local people know the area specific problems and have good reach within the gram. It is a good way of creating employment opportunity and using the local resource for local development.

A cadre of 4-5 youth should be formed within the GP for the implementation of various schemes, awareness generation, etc.



State Best Practice Rationale Customised for AP

Punjab Retired PRI officials are engaged in imparting training on NREGA to the elected members at GP Level

Since retired PR officials know most of the functions and processes, it is good to utilize their experience

Services of retired PR officials can be utilized imparting various trainings. They can be part of at Regional / District / Mandal level.

Uttrakhand Project detail, their budget, etc. is put on bulletin board and published at local news paper at all level of PRIs.

It’s a good practice with respect to transparency.

To communicate important details and awareness generation other modes of communication can be used such as radio, local newspaper, display boards, etc.

West Bengal Live interactive radio program for awareness generation on Panchayats

Mass media modes are good means of awareness creation

West Bengal Self Evaluation of the Panchayats

The performance of all the Panchayats should be measured. One of the ways of evaluation is self evaluation.

All the PRIs (GP / MP / ZP) should self evaluate themselves and submit the report to the upper level PRI. Top 10 GPs, top 5 MPs and top 1 ZP should be recognized as best PRI.



7. Mapping Proposed Solution against Gaps and Needs Identified

7.1. Internal Functions

7.1.1. Planning

Vision : To institute an inclusive, comprehensive and integrated planning function which is aligned with the overall development needs of the local area and involves active participation by PRI officials, elected representatives and line departments

Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives

Most line departments have their own

independent planning process besides

BRGF-related planning which is

undertaken by the DPC; hence the

concept of integrated local planning

gets diluted

The District Collector should make it mandatory for all plans (including those prepared by line departments) to be prepared by the DPC and approved in the General Body meeting (irrespective of source of funding & executing agency)

Planning process of line departments and PRIs will get integrated, conflicting planning agendas will be avoided and process will become transparent

DPC’s membership should be expanded to include the senior most line department functionaries at the district level

DPC will become the nodal planning body for all plans taking into account views and inputs of all stakeholders

There is limited involvement of citizens in the planning process

Planning process should commence with sectoral/functional feedback collected in a gram sabha covering the pressing needs, progress so far, future demands and expectations

The spirit of bottom-up decentralized planning will be strengthened as feedback will help in determining sector-specific planning priorities

Spatial information of existing assets is Spatial information regarding existing Appropriate coverage and spread of




not taken into account comprehensively while planning for new assets

assets (roads, wells, tanks etc) should be considered while planning new works

assets will be maintained

TAG evaluates only BRGF-related works

Role of the Technical Advisory Committee should cover all works at the district and mandal level, not just BRGF works

All proposed works would be subjected to the same scrutiny

There is no vertically aggregated view of all works being undertaken by sector/type

There should be a “drill down” functionality in PlanPlus to retrieve and access planning data (works planned, amounts etc) on the basis of various parameters such as works by sector, projected expenditure etc.

Multiple search fields in PlanPlus will enable senior decision makers and policy experts to retrieve specific information easily and identify gaps / improvement areas

Line department plans should also be uploaded on PlanPlus to provide a single, unified view, and avoid duplication

Transparency will be improved and duplication of works will be avoided

List of works should be standardized and entered in the PlanPlus database so that works can be simply selected rather than detailed individually

Access, retrieval and web-based filtering will be easier

There is lack of awareness of BRGF planning guidelines, PlanPlus functionality etc both at mandal and gram level

Training session on effective planning techniques should be conducted one month before the planning process begins at the mandal level

Awareness of planning guidelines and requirements will increase and quality of plans will improve




Superintendents and Senior Assistants at the mandal level need to be trained on IT applications

Concerned staff will be able to use PlanPlus more effectively

7.1.2. Implementation and Monitoring

Vision : To establish a transparent and comprehensive reporting system to enable higher authorities to monitor, review and evaluate plan implementation and undertake timely corrections / interventions as required There should be three broad areas of monthly reporting and MIS to ensure a system of controls, institute accountability and preempt early warning signs in important functional areas: Funds, Works and G2C Services

Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives Delays in finalization of monthly accounts, preparation of monthly reconciliation statement, responding to the audit objections primarily due to non-availability of information, receipt of information / budget from MPs and compilation at ZP level

Reporting on the month’s fund utilization and revenue collection should be automated. Monthly performance reports should be generated electronically and shared with all users. This should be followed by a review meeting between the E.O. PR&RD and the Panchayat Secretary (for GP) and between CEO ZP and MPDO for MP, and the outcome/action points should be documented to be discussed in the next meeting. The following data fields should be captured (both for the month and YTD) :

i. Grants – Amount, source, date received, utilization status

Planning process of line departments and PRIs will get integrated, conflicting planning agendas will be avoided and process will become transparent



Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives (utilized / unutilized / partially utilized), utilization %, reason for non-utilization (if applicable), Unused amounts

ii. Tax receipts iii. Other Income iv. Establishment-related expenses v. Other expenses (with details) vi. Available cash balance

BRGF Works • An electronic tracking system should

be set up in PlanPlus to track progress of BRGF works finalized at the beginning of the year. In addition to estimated cost, timelines should also be entered against each work. Status tracking should be enabled through the following fields (for each work) : i. Completion status (completed,

no started, on track, behind schedule, ahead of schedule)

ii. Budget variance (estimated vs actual expenditure)

iii. Reason for delay (if applicable) • The above physical and financial

Will ensure adequate control over implementation of BRGF works in terms of quality, cost and timeliness, and increase accountability of MPDOs while apprising other stakeholders of progress made



Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives progress dashboard must be complemented by a bi-monthly onsite verification to authenticate progress reports submitted

Other Scheme-related works Scheme-specific dashboards can be generated capturing details such as beneficiaries covered, % coverage, reason for delays (if any) and other relevant metrics through a scheme management module similar to RAGAS

Improved monitoring of all local schemes by all stakeholders

• A monthly summary report should be generated containing information such as no of applications received, no of applications processed within specified SLAs, pending applications, service fees collected etc by service for each GP.

• These reports should be uploaded on the Panchayat portal for citizens and other departments to access as well

MPs and ZPs will be able to accurately track and evaluate the status of G2C services being offered at GPs within their jurisdiction

Fixed asset recording and monitoring practices are weak

Asset summary report which should cover both IT and non-IT assets held under the jurisdiction of the respective PRI including those held by any PRI at a lower tier. The following fields should

This will enable improved visibility and management of fixed assets



Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives be captured –

i. Opening stock by category (Land, Buildings, IT Hardware, Furniture, Misc) at the beginning of the quarter

ii. New assets acquired iii. Assets disposed iv. Method of disposal and

proceeds (if any) from the same v. Closing stock vi. Total Value of assets held by

category


Quality of reports and accuracy of reporting will be impacted

7.1.3. Budgeting

Vision : To develop a robust and standardized budgeting framework characterized by efficiency, appropriate automation and reduced time and effort in preparation of budgets


Knowledge of budgeting techniques and guidelines is weak, Detailed budgetary performance is not undertaken

• Standard budgeting format / template should be made available online common for all three tiers. The following columns should be included

Budgeting will be consistent, transparent and formalized across all tiers




in the template for the budget of next financial year (FY): Particulars / heads of sources of revenue / expenditure, Actuals of previous FY, Estimates and Revised Budget of current FY, Budget estimate of next FY

• The following statements as of 31st March should be annexed with the annual budget: Number statement, Statement showing unspent balances of previous years, Balances in various bank accounts and treasury, Statement of Loans and Advances

• A detailed budgeting methodology / guidelines should be developed and should be made available at all the offices for reference. The guidelines should include: Timelines for preparation, periodic reviews, revision, sanction, etc, Procedure for preparation and sanction of budget, Review and sanction authorities (responsibility matrix), Procedure for revision of budget, Source of funds & their basis of calculation




• Budget versus actual variance analysis should be done quarterly. Reasons for deviations and corrective actions to be taken should be recorded on the software application itself. The same should be approved by senior authority.

• Budget estimates should be revised after six months based on the half year’s actual receipts & expenditure. Revised budget should be approved by gram sabha/general body.

Budget is prepared in either spreadsheets on computer or manually on plain paper, which is prone to data loss, versioning inconsistencies, uncontrolled access and manipulation

• There should be a web-based software application for preparation of budget for all three tiers. The entire budgeting process should be carried out on the software application starting from preparation to obtaining approvals. The application should also provide view option of approved budget for lower level PRIs

The budgeting process will be faster and smoother and visibility of budgets will be much higher

• Budgeting software should be linked with accounting software to easy the automated generation of variance reports. Automated controls can be placed whereby system will not allow

System of checks and controls will ensure proper utilization and tracking of funds




accounting entry to be passed beyond the budgeted amount under a particular head without appropriate approval.

Trainings should be imparted on the budgeting methodology to the PR staff involved in the budgeting process. The following personnel should be included: • GP – Secretary, Junior Assistant, • MP – Senior Assistant (Accounts),

MPDO, • ZP – Senior Assistant (Accounts),

Superintend (Accounts), Accounts Officer

PRI staff will acquire detailed budgeting knowledge which will impact quality of budgets

Refresher trainings sessions should be arranged every year one month before the budgeting process begins

PRI staff will be updated on the budgeting process.

7.1.4. Accounting

Vision : To have an integrated accounting system for accurate recording of transactions, digitization of data and timely reporting


There are delays in finalization of accounts and generation of reports

• Calendar / timetable for generation and submission of various reports / statements should be developed and circulated at all the tiers of PRIs in

This will help in better planning of internal work and reducing the delays in submission of financial reports / statements while instituting strong




the beginning of the financial year.. • This year PRIs have shifted from

single entry cash basis accounting system to double entry cash basis accounting system. As per the best practices, accounts should be maintained on double entry accrual basis system. Accrual basis of accounting will help in presenting the true state of Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss statement.

• Accounting controls and procedures should be clearly defined and established: Responsibility matrix considering the concept of segregation of duty (SoD), Standard accounting entry input forms, Month end cut off process, Procedure for bank and treasury reconciliation, Electronic approval of accounting entries and disposal of reconciliation items, Regulated control of new account head creation

• The best way to lay down the rules and procedures is to document standard operating procedures (SOP)

controls on utilization of funds




for the accounts function.Key performance indicators (KPIs) should be defined to measure the performance of the function. Number of days to produce a report / statement can be one of the KPIs.

All accounting is done manually esp at the mandal and gram level

• There is scope for web-based finance and accounting software and a payroll software, which is integrated with the Planning, budgeting and reporting modules.

• All the accounting sub-processes and activities should be automated:All the accounting registers and records should be digitized, Financial reports / statements should be generated from the software online and should be made available on the district portal for easy access, The audit queries / objections should be posted and resolved online, The whole process from raising request to approvals and transfer of funds may be made online

• Bank Reconciliation Statement and Treasury Reconciliation Statements

Visibility of data, processing of transactions and transparency of workflow will improve as a result of these interventions




should be generated through the online software application. Application can be developed to upload the bank and treasury statements. The system can compare the cash book with the uploaded statements and generate the reconciliation statement automatically. The reconciliation items can be disposed of by the concerned accounting staff after obtaining online approval from the approving authority.

• System based controls should be established: Controls for prior period posting, Various accounting entry type may be defined such as standard entry, reversal entry, recurring entry, etc, System controlled month / period end procedures and processes, On line training and help facilities.

• All users of financial systems should be fully trained on the accounting procedures and guidelines. The following personnel should be

Accounting knowledge of PRI officials will improve which will in turn impact the quality of the accounting process and MIS generated




included: o GP – Secretary, Junior

Assistant o MP – Senior Assistant

(Accounts), MPDO o ZP – Senior Assistant

(Accounts), Superintend (Accounts), Accounts Officer, Deputy CEO

• Refresher trainings sessions should be arranged every year.Awareness with respect to accounting controls and legal framework should be increased amongst relevant PR accounting staff.

• Timetable for various accounting reports / statements should be communicated to all relevant staff at the beginning of the financial year

7.1.5. Other Functions – Pension Processing Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives

Currently the process is completely manual and entails extensive transfer of manual files and documents which leads to processing delays quite often.

• The pension application processing system should be automated. A district level pension portal should be set up through which Head masters

Processing of pension proposals will be faster and more transparent




and MPDOs can upload pension proposals along with scanned documents. These documents can then be downloaded by the Pension section at the ZP office for further processing.

• In the long term, digital communication links can be established between the Pension section and the District Audit Office as well as the District Treasury office

The information transfer related to pension proposals among these departments can be made more efficient

There are challenges in monitoring whether disbursal of funds is done accurately and in a timely manner

• Under IGNOAPS, amounts should be paid directly from the DTO to the beneficiary accounts instead of being routed via cash transactions handled by MPDOs/VOs/SHGs. A bank account should be opened mandatorily with each pension account approval. For existing beneficiaries, bank account/ post office savings account details should be taken from those who have savings accounts. For those who do not hold savings accounts, SHGs/VOs should facilitate opening of accounts within specified

Disbursal of funds will be made more transparent, safer, efficient and faster




deadlines.

7.1.6. Other Function – Provident Fund Processing Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives

In some cases, subscription amounts are not revised automatically in line with salary increments / promotions.

• The payroll master should be updated with the subscription amount and updated annually immediately after promotions / increments have been granted. The payroll processing software should draw inputs from the payroll master, and hence calculate accurate salary amounts after taking into account PF deductions

This will ensure that correct subscription amounts are deducted in the monthly payroll

• The process for PF loan applications should be automated with the employee applying for the same through an employee portal and subsequent workflows and approvals being automated. The payroll master should also be updated with the loan amortization/repayment schedule to enable automatic deductions in the payroll processing cycle.

Loan processing and repayment will become more efficient



7.1.7. Other Function - Correspondence Management Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives

All communication happens manually, which is prone to delays and sometimes the communication not reaching the target recipients

• Transmission of circulars, notifications and any other office-related information should be done via email. All employees at and above a certain level at each office (For instance, Senior Assistants at ZP and MP, and Panchayat Secy at GP) should be provided with official web-based email IDs. In the beginning, both email-based and physical communication should be carried out but gradually physical communication should be phased out.

This will reduce the need for transfer of physical documents, and reduce cost and time of communication in the long term

• Email distribution lists can also be set up by designation, PRI tier, PRI name etc. An audit trail should be maintained to record details such as date and time of delivery, sender name and delivery failure report.

This will ensure that communication is speedy and targeted to reach all relevant users.

• All circulars, memos, GOs etc should be uploaded on the District portal to facilitate easy access

Information will be freely available to all stakeholders for reference



7.1.8. Other function - Grievance Redressal Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives

No acknowledge or receipt is provided by Panchayat office for grievance received

• Each PRI office should log in all complaints received on the district intranet (similar to Prajavani in Anantapur), generate a reference number and hand over a printed acknowledgment to the citizen along with the reference number for future tracking/ correspondence. Details captured will include date of receipt, type of grievance ( a standard list can be fed into the system)

This will ensure that all grievances received are duly recorded and referenced

• Status of the grievance application (in process, more information needed, resolved etc) must be updated along with the outcome (action taken).

Current status update will keep citizen as well as PRI officials updated

Monitoring of grievances received is largely absent

• Monthly Summary stats – total applications received. Applications processed, pending applications, applications by type (G2C services-related, scheme-related etc) should be viewed and evaluated by officials at the next higher PRI tier

This will make the receiving office more accountable and will enable higher level PRIs to track,monitor and question officials at lower levels



7.1.9. Other function – Administration and Governance


no review is undertaken by officials at higher levels to check whether the camps / visits are being conducted as planned, and findings being properly recorded and actioned or not. It is therefore suggested that tour plan for the month should be updated on the district portal for viewing by PRI officials and citizens

• A key responsibility of the MPDO is to undertake monthly visits in the mandal to assess village-level needs. It is statutory for MPDO to conduct village camps and visit institutes for inspection in the mandal every month

• Outcome of each visit/camp should be updated on the plan for review, and simultaneously sent to the CEO ZP via email

This will ensure that tours are conducted constructively in a timely manner and follow up action is taken as appropriate

It was observed that the outcomes of statutory meetings are not recorded consistently and comprehensively, and not shared with all stakeholders. The State PR department also expressed the need to monitor these meetings, both in terms of frequency as well as outcomes and action points.

• The Panchayat portal should be updated with the annual meeting calendar of all statutory meetings to be convened by ZP, MP and GP

• After the designated date has passed, the following details must be updated for review :Status – completed, cancelled, postponed (with reasons for cancellation or postponement), List of attendees, Agenda, Minutes and action points

Accountability for conducting mandatory meetings in a timely and effective manner would increase



7.1.10. Other function – Tax and fee collection at GP level Gap Recommendation Impact on objectives

• All registers including House tax demand register should be digitized. Updates to the register in case of mutation of property should be done by the GP office on the basis of mutation notification received directly from the sub-registrar’s office instead of the citizen having to apply for the same

Easy access of data for reference

• Arrears due from citizens (for house tax, water fee, license fee) should be recorded electronically and automatically carried forward to the next financial year

• Issuance of arrear/penalty notices should be generated electronically every month and there should be an ageing analysis of outstanding amounts (bills outstanding for more than 1 year, between 6 months and 1 year, between 3 and 6 months etc). The report should be generated through the arrears database and shared with the relevant MPDO.

This will ensure that officials are able to determine the arrears position for any citizen instantly at any given point of time instead of retrieving this information from previous years’ registers as being done currently.




• The following collection channels and modes should be considered – SHGs (cheques only), Mobile service providers (through SMS-based payment solutions), Direct payment at Treasury office (cash and cheque), Drop boxes for cheques at GP office and CSCs

Improved citizen convenience and safer and efficient cash management



7.1.11. Other function – Fixed Asset management


All data is maintained in manual registers with lack of validations and controls, At times, there are delays in updating information (receipt / disposal of assets) as a result of which record of stock of assets held may not be correct

• Each PRI office at ZP, MP and GP should maintain an itemized inventory of all fixed assets (both IT-related and others) with a unique asset code. This should be entered in the district intranet

• The following information should be captured for each asset : Asset description, category, value, date of acquisition, maintenance schedule (adhoc or specified frequency), type or category

• Any asset acquisition / disposal should be updated within 3 working days and the same must be approved by the official incharge of that office (CEO ZP, MPDO or PS)

• Asset summary reports should be generated on a quarterly basis and shared with the next level of PR

• Physical onsite verification of the assets stated in the latest asset summary report should be conducted once in six months by a responsible

This will ensure visibility of important asset-related information, and ensure that assets are managed transparently




official from the next higher PRI and the outcome documented

7.1.12. Other function – Citizen Awareness


Citizens are not aware of scheme benefits, timelines, eligibility criteria, in many cases

• Information on Scheme benefits, mode of delivery and eligibility for application should be made available in an concise and easy-to-use formats such as post card size cards, pamphlets etc to citizens in local language

• Prominent citizens within the village community (such as Headmaster, Aanganwadi workers, SHG members) should be used to generate awareness of new schemes

• Posters containing details of all current schemes (written/printed in a large font size in Telugu) should be pasted outside the GP office as well as at key locations where citizen traffic is generally high (local market, Aanganwadi center, Local school, PHCs etc )

• Citizen charter should be updated

Citizen awareness regarding schemes and services will improve




with the list of services offered at the GP office along with the stipulated timelines

7.1.13. Other function – Maintenance of Drinking Water Assets


Proper mapping of drinking water assets along with the O&M schedule is lacking

• A record of drinking water assets must be maintained both offline as well as online through the NPP capturing the following information : Location, Type of asset, Water source, Coverage (no of households covered), capacity etc

• The record must be reconciled with an onsite verification once a year

• Asset-wise maintenance schedule, past record, water test results and corrective action taken should be documented and uploaded online as well

Quality of drinking water assets will be monitored more effectively



7.2. Service Delivery

Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives

Technology related gaps:

Standard application format with a check-list of supporting documentation is absent

Common across all the services Standardization of service request through pre-designed form bearing a serial number and a check-list of supporting documentation

• Internal process improvement

• Improved service delivery to citizens

• Convenience to PRI employees

• Application form for registration might be out of stock

• Application, being in hard format, might get tampered or lost. Villagers, in gram sabha, have indicated that many a times they have re-applied for a service as the Panchayat officials could not trace the previous application.

Common across all the services Online applications / service requests option should be made available to the citizens




• Transparency & accountability

• Records are maintained and updated manually affecting easy traceability and change control

• Manual search in registers is tedious and time consuming process

• Common across all the services • Issue of birth / death / marriage

/ no dues certificate

Various records and registers like Cash Book, Birth / Death certificate, etc. should be maintained in the soft database format online






Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives

Certificate / NOC / Permission Order (PO) are prepared manually

Common across all the services All the certificates / NOCs / POs / Notices should be printed directly from the system




Acceptance of an application for a service is not formally recorded by the Panchayat office. An acknowledgement and facility to track the status are also not provided.

Common across all the services • Either computer generated acknowledgement or counter foil of the application after stamping should be provided to the citizen

• Web-based software is proposed to provide G2C services, thereby making online tracking mechanism available

• Improved Service Delivery to Citizens


• Inward entry register, for capturing and tracking receipt of applications, is not maintained expect for in case of RTI related queries

• Outward Register, for capturing delivery of service, is not maintained and acknowledgement from citizen is not obtained as confirmation for delivery of certificate / permission

Common across all the services Maintenance of Inward to record all the applications received and Outward register to record delivery of service is proposed. Applicant’s signature should be obtained on the register.





Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives order / notice

• Proof of birth / death, in case of hospital delivery or death in hospital, is not obtained

• Inadequate proof of marriage is obtained – Only marriage photograph, copy of proof of age and copy of residency proof

• Registration of birth / death • Registration and issue of

marriage certificate

• In case of birth / death occurring in the government hospitals, the list of people should be obtained from the hospital on monthly basis. Alternatively, the applicant should be requested to submit the copy of hospital slip.

• Moreover, in case of births, a report / list can be obtained from the Anandwadis

• In case of marriage, applicants should be asked to submit invitation card and receipt of marriage hall or letter from temple priest

Improved decision making

No formal process for verification of information is followed by the GP

Registration of birth / death Field verification should be conducted by GP in cases where Hospital Slip is not received

• Improved decision making • Internal process

improvement

Citizen needs to travel to the Block to visit Tahsildar’s office for registration of birth after 21 days of the event

Registration and issue of birth / death certificate

GP to process birth / death registration in case application is made beyond 21 days of birth / death / marriage

Improved service delivery to citizens

No communication is given to • Registration of birth / death / marriage

GP to issue Advice to citizen in Improved service delivery to



Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives citizen with respect to completion of registration process / updation of records

• Change of name in demand register (on mutation of property)

cases where the service ends with updation of GP records.

citizens

In case of Garladinne GP (Anantapur), the data available with GP of last 1.5 years only. The data beyond 1.5 years is with Tahsildar. No data sharing has taken place between Mandal & Gram.

Registration and issue of birth / death certificate

• Line department (in this case Revenue Department) to share the past data with PR Department.

• Online database to integrate current and past data


No standard application form is available at many GP for citizen i.e, applications on plain paper are accepted

Registration and issue of marriage certificate

Standardization of service request through pre-designed form bearing a serial number and a check-list of supporting documentation




No service delivery time has been defined for this service

• Issue of No Dues certificate • Issue of Valuation Certificate for

Property • Issuance of house ownership

certificate • NOC for Electricity connection

Service delivery time / SLA should be defined for all the services


Findings of field visit are not documented

• Change of name in demand register (on mutation of property)

Field verification report to be prepared online


• Improved decision making



Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives Technical Advice of Town & Country Planning (TCP) is not obtained

• Permission for Construction of Building

Technical advice to be obtained and considered before granting permission

Improved decision making

In case of rejection, no written communication stating the reasons for rejection is given to citizen

• Layout Permission • Permission for Construction of

Building • Issuance of house ownership

certificate • Issue of job card • Sanction of Tap connection

GP to issue Advice to citizen in case of rejection


Citizen pressurizes GP for higher valuation

Issue of Valuation Certificate for Property

Launch of web-based online software application will bring transparency to the whole process and will be less prone to manual manipulations



No details are verified before signing off the NOC

NOC for Electricity connection GP office to verify GP records to check if there are any balances recoverable from the applicant

Internal process improvement

No field verification is conducted to check the genuineness

Trade Licenses Field verification should be conducted by GP for all new cases and periodically for old cases / business

• Improved decision making • Internal process

improvement

In some grams, even verbal requests are accepted

Sanction of Tap connection All the service requests to be accepted through written application in standard format available at GP


• Internal process



Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives office / online improvement

• Fees structure differs from gram to gram drastically

• Citizen finds the fees to be high as against the service they receive

Sanction of Tap connection Range for fees to be fixed. GP should be allowed fix up the fees within the range. For example, minimum of Rs. 2,000 and maximum of Rs. 3,500.


• In some cases, connection is provided before receipt of the tap fees e.g., in Garladinne GP (Anantapur)

• No reconciliation done between the fees collected and no. of connections provided for a period

Sanction of Tap connection • Connection to be provided only after receipt of service fees

• With the launch of web-based online software application for providing G2C services, the processes will be pre-defined in the system with less scope for deviation

• System based monthly reconciliation report to be generated reconciling the number of service provided and the fees collected.



Order and Communication to Waterman to fix the tap connection are not formally documented

Sanction of Tap connection Sanction letter to be handed over to the Waterman along with the instruct to provide connection





Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives There is no formal procedure for the Waterman to close the process.

Sanction of Tap connection After providing the tap connection, Waterman to sign on the Sanction Letter and submit the same to PS, who in turn will update the system (Citizen Database) with the date of connection



• PS is loaded with lot of responsibilities due to lack of staff. In most of the GPs, PS is the only PR employee handling all the functions and services.

• The whole process of service delivery is executed by single person (i.e., PS in most of the cases) and hence lacks the concept to of segregation of duty

Common across all the services Position of Junior Assistant to be introduced to reduce the work load of PS and for the purpose of segregation of duty

• Segregation of Duties (SoD) • Convenience to PRI

employees • Transparency &

accountability

Not all services listed in the Citizen Charter are being offered by the Panchayat thus warranting a need to update the citizen charter

Common across all the services Citizen charter to be revised and SLAs / service delivery timeframe to be defined for all the G2C services





Gap Service Solution Impact on objectives Awareness levels about the G2C services are generally lower specially among women as observed in the gram sabhas

Common across all the services • Citizen charter to be displayed at GP offices

• It can be published in local newspaper from time to time

• Other modes of communication should be used to generate awareness like radio, internet, etc.





7.3. ICT Infrastructure

Category Gap Solution How the solution

addresses the gap Impact on objectives

Applications and Online Service

• Activities were undertaken manually.

• Even where ePanchayat was implemented, there was scope of further automation

Following applications

comprehensively cover the

functions and activities of

PRI:

• Integrated Finance & Accounts module

• Personnel Management • Scheme Management • Geographic Information

System (GIS) • Fixed Asset Management • Online Registers

• The suggested solutions identified the key data points, provides modules as features for workflows that reduce manual intervention and redundancy to a great level

• It also provides real-time access of data whose integrity is maintained with access controls right from point of capture to storage

The IT enablement through suggested

software applications helps meet the

following objectives directly and

indirectly:

• Internal Process Improvement – through automated workflow, data integrity and access roles and controls

• Improved Service Delivery – Processing and monitoring Service requests, grounding of schemes and allocation of benefits is improved with envisaged improvement in data quality, process transparency and controls

• Transparency & Accountability - Unified view of citizens, data integrity control, process log, controls and audit trails provides the much needed transparency and accountability to PRI functions



• Convenience to government employees – The applications reduces the rudimentary and repetitive tasks for employees and can focus their attention and efforts on value creation activities

End User Hardware Infrastructure

• Apart from some of the Notified panchayats, Panchayats offices do not have Desktops and peripherals to even maintain/save records digitally

• At ZP and MP level, the end user IT infrastructure is moderately and marginally better respectively but more is required for success of IT based internal process improvement

As part of the future state

with IT enabled process

workflows and functions, its

imperative that all PRI

offices are provided IT

Desktops and peripherals

along with LAN and WAN

connectivity. The same have

been identified in the List of

Key Items of ICT in Section

6.5 of this document

The infrastructure acts as

the key enabler for process

workflows and functions

• Internal Process Improvement – through enabling applications for process workflows

• Convenience to government employees – The infrastructure allows employees to adopt proposed software applications



Server Side Hardware Infrastructure

• Currently there are no server side infrastructure as there a client-server transaction systems being adopted apart from PlanPlus

• A centralized 3 tier architecture is proposed. The same, contingent on connectivity, is proposed in a hybrid semi-centralized model in short and long term maintaining the essence of the centralized architecture

• A centralized architecture shall help large distributed PRI offices in adopting common set of standards, technologies and data usage.

• Apart from rationalizing IT investments, it also reduces the operation and maintenance overheads in the form IT staffing and responding to IT issues

• Internal Process Improvement – Centralized architecture helps adopt and manage a common state wide set of processes that are automated. Changes to the same if any could be done centrally without having to modify at all locations

• Convenience to government employees – The operation and maintenance of such complex infrastructure shall be confined to once central location thus enabling front-office citizen facing staff to focus on their core functions

Connectivity • Currently connectivity is available to certain extent at ZP level and MP level. There exists no connectivity at GP level

• Given the present constraints and delay in rollout of SWAN connectivity to the Mandal and village level, a short term solution of hiring a private service provider across the state or in regions of state has been recommended with a plan to migrate to SWAN in long term

• The solution reduces the impact of lack on connectivity in rolling out the IT solutions and infrastructure in the immediate/short term

• Convenience to government employees – The solution shall enable the employee to make an early transition to IT enable environment and adopt IT in daily functioning of PRI



7.4. Capacity

Capacity assessment

Gap Solution How the solution addresses the gap

Impact on objectives

Organization structure District level Scheme / project oriented

Committee meetings are the only source for updating the works conducted in the mandal. Since these meetings are sometimes irregular thus this leaves a limited scope for monitoring the scheme and non scheme works.

Since planning, implementation, budgeting, monitoring and reporting for work forms an important component for PRIs, thus there should be a separate section under a project manager in ZP office, focusing on these aspects.

Project manager would co-ordinate with the concerned line departments and lower tiers of PRIs for supervising Planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and reporting activities

Project manager could regularly guide and assist CEO during the meetings related to the works / projects which would improve the decisions made by CEO

Administrative Activities of same nature are distributed under separate sections - Accounts section and establishment section, which makes it difficult while reconciling these activties, as records from different sections have to be referred and

Reorganizing the activities under different sections in ZP office

Reorganizing the activities under the corresponding sections would streamline the activities in the section and these would be easy to monitor and reconcile

Streamlining the activities within and across the sections would ultimately help in improving the internal process of PRI functioning



Capacity assessment



verified

Administrative CEO responsible for monitoring internal as well as external activities in the limited time available

Distributing the responsibilities of CEO and appointing an assistant to CEO

Assistant to CEO for coordinating administrative activities in PR office in his absence would help reducing the work load for CEO

• Internal process Improvement

• Convenience to government employees

Mandal level Administrative All officials at mandal

level directly report to MPDO, and there are no intermediate checks, increasing the workload for MPDO

There should be intermediate checks for works approaching MPDO and there should be only one point of contact for MPDO at executive level

Restructuring the organization structure of PR so that there are more people at execution level and as we move up the hierarchy the staff strength is reduced. This would reduce multiple point of contacts for MPDO



Administrative Activities such as preparation of budget, approving the list of beneficiaries for

An administrative in-charge during absence of MPDO during his touring activities can be made responsible for these activities

Works requiring the involvement of a senior officer, would not be affected if there is an





Capacity assessment



schemes, supervising NREGS activities such as approving muster roll, attendance sheet etc which involves physical involvement gets affected while MPDO is out of office while conducting tours etc

administrative in-charge in absence of MPDO.

Manpower Number of posts within each category

At mandal level, there is one position available for each level of the support staff, which leads to inadequate distribution of work

As we go down the hierarchy in the organization structure, a progressive increase in the number of staff members should be there

The proposed structure would clearly define the role for staff members at each level and intermediate checks for the work done could be done before it is finally submitted

Progressively increasing the number of people as we go down the hierarchy, helps in stabilizing the PR organization structure and hence internally improving the system

Number of posts within each category

All PR staff personnel report individually to MPDO, affecting the workload for him

reporting for the work should be followed at each hierarchical level

the pyramidical structure proposed would encourage layer/ level wise reporting for each senior level

Once the filtered information reaches the MPDO, it becomes easy for MPDO to focus only on the critical issues and improves the decision making process



Capacity assessment



Additional posts Project manager for monitoring the scheme related works at district and mandal level to assist CEO

Appointing a project manager A project manager or in-charge for scheme and non scheme related works would assist CEO for the concerned function

With the support and guidance of Project manager, monitoring the works becomes easy and improves internal process management

Additional posts No administrative in-charge is there at mandal level, who can coordinate/ supervise the administrative activities in absence of MPDO and CEO respectively at Mandal and district levels

Appointing an in-charge for administration work in absence of MPDO and CEO

Considering the fact that MPDOs and CEOs have to mandatory conduct the tours and site visits to monitor the development works. An in-charge in their absence would reduce the burden of internal as well as external work

Availability of administrative in-charge in absence of MPDO and CEO, would help in improvising the internal administrative functioning of PR

Additional posts PS is responsible for cluster of villages for all its administrative as well as citizen specific functioning hence increasing the workload

A Jr. Assistant to each PS should essentially be appointed, who can take care of administrative activities of PR and assist PS in administrative works

An assistant to each PS would take care of the administrative activities for the villages under the purview of PS and would decrease the workload from PS

Assistant to PS would help PR for improving the administrative functioning of PRI and help citizens by improving the service delivery process

Skills Training There is lack of support/ an online guidance and regular Refresher course, if Availability of local



Capacity assessment



guidance while implementing a new subject such as new accounting system or new software such as Planplus, leading to ineffective implementation of the subjects learned during the training

refresher course should be organized to assist officials for the new subjects

organized, would help in addressing to the queries, which participants would have faced during the actual execution and implementation. Similarly, regular updates for a subject could be given regularly

guidance for PR related subjects would enhance their work output and improvise overall functioning of the PR

Lack of interest to attend the trainings as these are not mandatory

Trainings should be made mandatory and disciplinary action should be initiated if the trainings are not attended

Disciplinary actions and linking the training attendance and performance evaluation for training. Further participatory exercises during the trainings would help in increasing the attendance and in holding the interest for the participants

Capacity building exercise done for PR would essentially help them in improving their performance in tasks assigned and improving the PR for its internal process management

Comprehensive data for the trainings attended by an individual in different locations is not

Data for the trainings attended by an individual in different centers such as APARD/ETC/CLRC etc should be consolidated and

Maintaining the list of trainings, compiled from different centers at individual level and



Capacity assessment



maintained. This leads to ineffective planning while designing the training calendar

mandatory maintained in the individual personal files

linking it with the transfers, would help to assess the availability of trained personnel in a district / mandal/ gram would help in having a comprehensive list of

Sometimes there is limited improvement in the work performance post a training is conducted and objective for conducting the training is not achieved.

Performance evaluation should be done by the seniors for their subordinated post their trainings

This would help to analyze the benefits earned from the training and if there is insignificant improvement, a refresher course on the same could be conducted. This ultimately would help to achieve the objective of the training

During the traininbg sessions, there is limited participation from the members

performance evaluation for each individual should be done based on his/her level of participation

The performance evaluation in the training would help to assess the effectiveness for the training and in redesigning it if required



8. Key Assumptions for Proposed Solution

8.1. Key assumptions / Pre requisites / Considerations

• The current status of devolution of funds, functions and functionaries in AP will remain unchanged in the foreseeable future

• Legal framework to remain more or less constant i.e., no major legal changes in the State and the Country are expected in the foreseeable future

• Roles and responsibilities of PRI officials remain largely unchanged as defined in the APPR Act and the respective office manuals

• PRIs are provided with the basic civil infrastructure in terms of adequate space and readiness of building facilities required for computerization at every level.

• In case of certain new services (such as Updation of ration card, Inclusion of name in Voters’ list and Issuance of Voter ID card, etc.), the role of PRIs will be restricted to receiving applications from citizens and delivering certificates/other deliverables to them; processing the service request will be done by the respective line department only.

8.2. Dependencies

ICT Infrastructure:

• For enabling computerization upto the gram level, continuous power supply (at least during working hours) or adequate power backup facilities are provided at the Panchayat offices as well as CSCs.

• The ICT infrastructure includes complete hardware setup till GP level or cluster GP level. It includes hardware assets like PCs, UPS and peripheral devices, in adequate numbers at MP and GP level. In addition to PCs, central servers to be maintained at ZP level.

• Availability of Power backup using Generators/UPS for at least 3-4 hours on working days at every level of PRI.

• Provision of broadband internet connectivity for all the computerized PRIs. • Provision of offline application at GP level to upload data in case of temporary non-availability of

connectivity • Involvement of CSCs in delivering G2C services and PRIs applications to be integrated with the CSC’s

operations • Standardization of application forms and processes for various services and availability of application

form on the system to take a printout. • Integration of PRI application to be done with all line departments various levels (Gram, Mandal, District

and State). • Availability of common, standard and integrated software for correspondence and communication

(emailing and messaging software) amongst all levels of PRIs.



• Village-level centralized Citizen Database (including basic details such as unique citizen ID, name, address, date of birth, sex, contact numbers, bank account number, names of family members, land holding, occupation, if in BPL list, etc.) at DP level having integration with the ePanchayat Application.

Capacity:

• Current vacant positions are filled at all 3 tiers of PRIs • Adequate manpower at every level of PRIs is provided with required competency level • Additional manpower for newly introduced / recommended posts is provided by PRIs at different levels

such as Planning Officer at ZP, Junior Assistant at GP, etc. • Required trainings (on core functional skills, technology and soft skills) are provided to the PR staff

including elected representatives along with refresher courses from time to time

8.3. Risks and Mitigating factors

• Since poor connectivity and low speeds can disrupt the GP office work and reduce the citizens’ belief in its ability to deliver, providing connectivity at the GP level at a speed which will allow effective working is important

• Unavailability of electricity is a key concern especially at GP level and power back-up is a must for the computers to be operated during office hours.

• Safety and security of GP office (documents, ICT infrastructure and other assets) is also a key concern as most of the GPs don’t have night watchmen

• ICT infrastructure may be misused for purposes beyond the official ones or it may not be maintained properly. Hence, there should be proper supervision of the infrastructure at the GPs. In this regard, a mandal level NIC centre may be opened and a Mandal Informatics Officer may be appointed as the overall in-charge of maintain the ICT infrastructure at MP and GP level.

• Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster recovery mechanism for data recovery during disasters / natural calamities is also important to protect PRI data



9. Summary of Recommendations

The following table summarizes the recommendations:

S. No.

Function / Area of improvement

Reference Section

Recommendations

Process Technology People

1 Planning 6.1.1 • District Collector should make it mandatory for all plans (including line department plans) to be discussed, debated and ratified in the General Body meeting

• DPC should be leveraged to function as the nodal planning body for all plans

• Planning should be closely integrated with budgeting and should commence with the communication of grant sources and amounts for the next year.

• The role of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) should be

• There should be a “drill down” functionality in PlanPlus to retrieve and access planning data (works planned, amounts etc) on the basis of various parameters such as works by sector, projected expenditure etc.

• Line department plans should also be uploaded on PlanPlus.

• List of works should be standardized and entered in the PlanPlus database

• Training session on effective planning techniques should be conducted one month before the planning process begins at the mandal level

• Superintendents and Senior Assistants at the mandal level need to be trained on IT applications



expanded to evaluate all works at the district and mandal level and not be restricted to BRGF works as being done currently.

2 Implementation and Reporting

6.1.2 • MPDO should also prepare a qualitative summary of performance citing reasons for deviations from plan, under-utilization of funds and any other out-of-ordinary events.

• For BRGF works, an electronic tracking system should be set up in PlanPlus to track progress of BRGF works finalized at the beginning of the year and should be aligned with F&A module. In addition to estimated cost, timelines should also be entered against

• Monthly reporting on fund utilization and revenue collection should be automated.

• MIS reports should be generated though a state level portal (intranet) with a functionality to drill down to ZP, MP and GP levels.

• Consolidated transaction data for the same needs to be entered by a responsible executive at each level.

• The reports should also be made available for public access through the Panchayat portal




each work. It must be complemented by a bi-monthly onsite verification to authenticate progress reports submitted.

• A monthly summary report should be generated containing information such as no. of applications received, processed within SLAs, service fees collected, etc. for each GP.

• Asset Summary report reports should be generated quarterly

3 Budgeting 6.1.3 • Standard budgeting format should be made available online common for all three tiers

• A detailed budgeting methodology / guidelines should be developed and should be made available at all

• There should be a web-based software application for preparation of budget

• Entire budgeting process should be carried out on the software application starting from preparation to obtaining approvals.

• The application should

• Trainings should be imparted on the budgeting methodology to the PR staff involved in the budgeting process. The following personnel should be included:

• Elected



the offices for reference. • Budget versus actual

variance analysis should be done quarterly. Reasons for deviations and corrective actions to be taken should be recorded on the software application itself.

• Budget estimates should be revised after six months based on the half year’s actual receipts and expenditure.

also provide view option of approved budget for lower level PRIs

• Budgeting software should be linked with accounting software to easy the automated generation of variance reports.

representatives should also be educated on this.

• Refresher trainings sessions should be arranged every year one month before the budgeting process begins.

4 Accounting 6.1.4 • It is recommended to shift to double entry accrual basis accounting system.

• Accounting controls and procedures should be clearly defined

• The best way to lay down the rules and procedures is to document standard

• There is scope for web-based finance and accounting software and a payroll software, which is integrated with the Planning, budgeting and reporting modules. All the accounting sub-processes and activities should be automated

• Bank Reconciliation

• All users of financial systems should be fully trained on the accounting procedures and guidelines.

• Refresher trainings sessions should be arranged every year.

• Awareness with respect to accounting



operating procedures (SOP) for the accounts function.

• Key performance indicator (KPI) should be defined to measure the performance of the function.

Statement and Treasury Reconciliation Statements should be generated through the online software application

• System based controls should be established

controls and legal framework should be increased amongst relevant PR accounting staff.

• Timetable for various accounting reports / statements should be communicated to all relevant staff at the beginning of the financial year.

5 Pension Processing (both for retired PRI staff and through IGNOAPS)

6.1.5 • Pension application processing system should be automated • A district level pension portal should be set up through which Head masters and

MPDOs can upload pension proposals along with scanned documents • Digital links can be established between the Pension section and the District

Audit Office as well as the District Treasury office (DTO) • Under IGNOAPS, disbursal of funds should be made more transparent, efficient

and faster through direct payment of amounts from DTO to beneficiary accounts • A bank account should be opened mandatorily with each beneficiary under

Pension scheme.

6 Provident Fund Management

6.1.6 • For new employees, PF number should be generated automatically without waiting for them to apply for the same.

• Payroll master should be updated with the subscription amount and updated annually immediately after promotions / increments have been granted.

• The payroll processing software should draw inputs directly from the payroll master



• Payroll processing system with linkages to the District Treasury Office needs to be developed and a Payroll master needs to be created with employee-wise compensation details automatically

7 Record Management 6.1.7 • Digitization of this data is therefore strongly recommended. • To ensure IT security, controls should be simultaneously instituted by granting

‘edit’ and ‘read only’ access as appropriate.

8 Correspondence Management

6.1.8 • Transmission of circulars, notifications and any other office-related information should be done via email

• All employees at and above a certain level at each office should be provided with official email IDs.

• In addition to broadcasting via email, all circulars, memos, GOs, etc. should be uploaded on the District portal to facilitate easy access.

9 Grievance Redressal 6.1.9 • The grievance redressal system functional in Anantapur district, Prajavani, is a good example of a robust complaint management tool. This can be replicated at all PRI offices across all districts in AP to enable better recording and processing of grievance-related communication.

• Summary stats – total applications received, applications processed, pending applications, applications by type (G2C services-related, scheme-related, etc.) should be viewed and evaluated by officials at the next higher PRI tier

10 Administration and Governance

6.1.10 Maintenance of Tour Plan • Tour plan for the month should be updated on the district portal for viewing by

PRI officials as well as citizens • Outcome of each visit/camp should be updated on the plan for review, and

simultaneously sent to the CEO ZP via email Meeting Management • Panchayat portal should be updated with the annual meeting calendar of all



statutory meetings to be convened by ZP, MP and GP • After the designated date has passed, the following details must be updated for

review – Status, list of attendees, agenda, minutes and action points, etc.

11 Tax and Fee Collection at Gram Level

6.1.11 • All registers including House tax demand register should be digitized • Updates to the register in case of mutation of property should be done by the

GP office on the basis of mutation notification received directly from the sub-registrar’s office instead of the citizen having to apply for the same

• Issuance of arrear/penalty notices should be generated electronically every month and there should be an ageing analysis of outstanding amounts.

12 Asset Management 6.1.12 • Each PRI office at ZP, MP and GP should maintain an itemized inventory of all fixed assets with a unique asset code

• Any asset acquisition / disposal should be updated within 3 working days and the same must be approved by the official in-charge of that office

• Asset summary reports should be generated on a quarterly basis and shared with the next level of PR

• Physical onsite verification of the assets stated in the latest asset summary report should be conducted once in six months and the outcome documented.

13 Citizen Awareness 6.1.13 • Information on Scheme benefits, mode of delivery and eligibility for application should be made available in an concise and easy-to-use formats such as post card size cards, pamphlets, etc. to citizens in local language,

• Prominent citizens within the village community should be used to generate awareness of new schemes

• Posters containing details of all current schemes (written/printed in a large font size in Telugu) should be pasted outside the GP office as well as at key locations where citizen traffic is generally high

14 Maintenance of Drinking 6.1.14 • A record of drinking water assets must be maintained both offline as well as



Water Assets online through the NPP capturing the following information: Location, Type of asset, Water source, Coverage (no of households covered), capacity, etc.

• The record must be reconciled with an onsite verification once a year • Asset-wise maintenance schedule, past record, results and corrective action

taken should be documented and uploaded online as well

15 G2C services 6.2 • Citizen charter should be updated with the list of services offered at the GP office along with the stipulated timelines

• Either computer generated acknowledgement or counter foil of the application after stamping should be provided to the citizen

• Web-based software is proposed to provide G2C services, thereby making online tracking mechanism available

• Maintenance of Inward register to record all the applications received and Outward register to record delivery of

• Standardization of service request through pre-designed form bearing a serial number and a check-list of supporting documentation

• Online applications / service requests option should be made available to the citizens

• Various records and registers like Cash Book, Birth / Death certificate, etc. should be maintained in the soft database format online

• All the certificates / NOCs / POs / Notices should be printed directly from the system

• Development of village

• Position of Junior Assistant to be introduced to reduce the work load of PS and for the purpose of segregation of duty

• Awareness creation by displaying Citizen charter at GP office, publishing it in local newspaper from time to time and using other modes of communication like radio, internet, etc.



service is proposed. • Field verification report

to be prepared online • Certificate to be printed

directly from system in 2 languages

• GP to issue Advice to citizen in case of rejection

• Define KPIs and Escalation matrix

level citizen database

16 Capacity Building

16(a) To-Be Organization Structure - Structural changes

6.3.1 • An assistant responsible for monitoring and coordinating the activities in different sections is thus proposed, who would be reporting to CEO for the office administration.

• There should be adequate allocation of work among the MP staff and there should be an administrative in-charge for assisting this staff for execution of these activities.

• At MP, there should be a separate section under the supervision of a ‘Project Manager’ for monitoring the scheme and non scheme related works

16(b) Manpower 6.3.2 • Sanctioned posts, which are currently vacant, should firstly be targeted to be filled

• Additional posts required in the current structure - Additional Superintendents and Sr. Assistants are proposed to be hired at ZP as well as MP.

• Additional categories in the organization structure (such as Project manager, Assistant for CEO and MPDO) are proposed at mandal and district level



16(c) Skill sets and Training 6.3.3 and 6.3.4

• The skills required to be developed for each level and the proposed trainings are identified and categorized into three heads – Core functional skills, Technology related skills and soft skills



10. Way Forward

The next steps in the project will involve preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the state of Andhra Pradesh providing a detailed roadmap for the transformation of Panchayati Raj system from existing state to e-PRI. The key activities in this phase would include: estimating ICT requirements, defining strategy for roll-out, defining project management & M&E structure, defining communication plan, defining change management strategy and determining total budget requirements for e-PRI MMP. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) would serve as the roadmap for operationalizing the e-PRI MMP. It would need to cover diverse aspects such as: 1. Computing requirements at the Panchayat Levels, 2. State and District level project management structure 3. Options for financial and operational models It would, therefore be critical to carry out a detailed estimation of the ICT infrastructure required for e-PRI MMP at the PRIs in AP. Specifically, the following would be estimated: Computing environment (no. of computers, printers, scanners, etc.) required at each tier of PRI in the state, Connectivity requirements at each tier of Panchayati Raj in the state, The different application software packages areas (including modules based on services being delivered or proposed to be delivered) which would need to be developed and/or modified, Essential infrastructure (like civil works, power requirements, special equipment) required in the state for supporting ICT initiatives, the capacity building programme for the PRIs (in terms of number of manpower required to provide handholding support, trainings required to be given to PRI officials etc.), Cost estimates and duration for each component. The DPR would be prepared in collaboration with the state PR department, taking into account inputs and recommendations from all key stakeholders. We will endeavor to provide a robust transformation roadmap for PRIs in AP by adopting a comprehensive, consultative and pragmatic approach during the DPR phase.