DDO offices will strengthen growth, welfare programmes at field level, says Dy. CM

Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan on Thursday reiterated that the NDA government was committed to realising the dream of Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Gram Swaraj’ with sweeping reforms in the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development systems.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan was inaugurating the new District Development Officer (DDO) office near the Collectorate here, besides virtually launching 77 DDOs across the State to strengthen the twin wings of the administration.

The Deputy Chief Minister said the NDA government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, was introducing structural reforms inspired by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment to ensure decentralised governance and stronger local institutions. With the creation of DDO offices, the Panchayat Raj Department would now have a divisional-level structure comparable to the Revenue and Police wings.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan observed that the new offices would streamline supervision of development and welfare programmes at the field level, enabling continuous monitoring and quicker delivery of services. He said that long-pending promotions and service issues in the PR&RD departments, some dating back over two decades, had been resolved, benefiting nearly 10,000 employees.

The government also merged the Zilla Parishad and District Panchayat wings, upgraded DPO posts to Deputy Director level, and reorganised Panchayat Secretary cadres from five grades to three. Panchayat Secretaries had been redesignated as Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs), and every large gram panchayat with a population of over 10,000 would now have a gazetted PDO.

Mr. Pawan Kalyan said that the government abolished 7,244 clusters and converted 13,350 gram panchayats into fully autonomous local bodies, each with a dedicated Panchayat Secretary. A special IT wing was being created to strengthen digital governance in Panchayat Raj institutions.

Panchayat Raj Commissioner V.R. Krishna Teja said G.O. Ms. 57 and 58 facilitated the restructuring, adding that the new divisional posts will also be open to Group-1 recruits, creating fresh opportunities for aspirants.

Chittoor Collector Sumit Kumar said the DDOs would function on a par with RDOs, equipped to review MGNREGS and PR department activities. Chittoor district would operate these offices through G+1 structures funded by Zilla Parishad resources.

Ministers K. Atchannaidu (Agriculture), Nadendla Manohar (Civil Supplies), Anam Ramanarayana Reddy (Endowments) and S. Savitha (BC Welfare) joined the programme virtually from their respective districts. Local MLAs, officials and public representatives from Chittoor, Puthalapattu, Tirupati and Railway Kodur Assembly constituencies also participated in the event.