Telangana has fixed a seven-working-day deadline for upa sarpanches to sign gram panchayat cheques and approve expenditure proposals, giving district collectors powers to investigate unexplained delays and shift cheque-drawing authority when necessary.
The order, issued by Panchayat Raj Commissioner D Divya on Thursday, follows complaints that development works, sanitation services and drinking water projects were being held up by disputes between sarpanches and their deputies. The move was taken after Panchayat Raj and Rural Development officials received representations from several gram panchayats.
Under the new guidelines, an upa sarpanch must sign a bill-related cheque or approve an expenditure proposal through a digital signature within seven working days of submission. If the approval is not provided within that period, and there is no valid reason for the delay, the district collector can conduct an inquiry.
The decision follows directions from Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development D Anasuya Seethakka, issued after reports that some upa sarpanches were withholding signatures because of political differences, local rivalries and other disputes. Officials said several cases had come to their notice in which payments remained pending because an upa sarpanch refused to sign a cheque.
The joint cheque-signing system was introduced under the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018. Before that arrangement, cheque-signing authority was shared between the sarpanch and the panchayat secretary. The current system requires the elected village representatives to jointly approve payments linked to gram panchayat expenditure.
District collectors will now examine whether an objection to a payment had genuine grounds. The government has said valid objections will continue to be considered, but expenditure cannot be blocked indefinitely without justification. If an intentional delay is established, action can be initiated under the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act.
Collectors have also been empowered to transfer cheque-drawing authority to another statutory functionary if an upa sarpanch is found to have deliberately stalled payments. The authority may be delegated to the panchayat secretary, the mandal panchayat officer or the mandal parishad development officer.
The orders were issued after sarpanch associations represented that local disputes were affecting village development and delaying essential public services. Their complaints included cases where sarpanches had completed their part of the approval process but bills remained unpaid because the required second signature was not provided.
The new deadline places a formal time limit on a process that directly affects the payment of contractors, suppliers and service providers involved in village works. It also gives district officials a defined administrative route to distinguish between a legitimate financial objection and an alleged attempt to obstruct expenditure.
The government has directed district collectors, additional collectors and district panchayat officers to ensure strict implementation of the rules. Any action against an upa sarpanch, including the transfer of cheque-drawing authority, will follow an inquiry into the reasons for withholding approval.
