Suryaa Telangana Desk: Allegations have emerged in Chowdapur mandal regarding panchayat secretaries bypassing the government-mandated face recognition attendance system. Residents allege that some secretaries are registering attendance without being physically present at their assigned offices, leading to instances where panchayat offices remain locked.
The complaints specifically involve Kothapalli Thanda, Bhajya Nayak Thanda, Borra Hemya Nayak Thanda, and Gogya Nayak Thanda. According to government regulations, secretaries are required to register their attendance via a mobile application from their respective villages before 9:00 AM daily. Critics allege that some officials are registering attendance without visiting their offices and are failing to update location details within the application.
Local residents report that the absence of secretaries is causing delays in essential services, including the issuance of birth and death certificates, house tax collection, and sanitation management. Villagers have expressed frustration, stating that officials are not available for urgent administrative tasks.
Chowdapur Mandal Panchayat Officer (MPO) Srinivas Reddy stated that the attendance of all panchayat secretaries in the mandal is being recorded before 9:00 AM. However, residents continue to question whether the secretaries are actually performing their duties at the panchayat offices despite the digital logs.
The public is demanding that higher authorities conduct surprise inspections to verify field-level attendance against the digital records and take appropriate action if the allegations are proven true.