Patna: To expedite progress in official schemes by sensitizing officials, the Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar, Patna, is holding daily review meetings with Deputy Development Commissioners, District Panchayat Raj Officers, and Additional Chief Executive Officers of District Councils through video conferencing via a roster. To expedite the transfer and operationalization of newly constructed Panchayat government buildings, to immediately collect pending utilization certificates, and to expedite the expenditure of funds received and administrative approval for schemes implemented under the 15th Financial Commission and 6th State Financial Commission, Raju Kumar, Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, said.

A daily review meeting is being held with Deputy Development Commissioners, District Panchayat Raj Officers, and Additional Chief Executive Officers of District Councils of North and South Bihar through video conferencing via a roster. In this regard, a review meeting was held with officials of 17 districts (Arwal, Aurangabad, Banka, Bhagalpur, Bhojpur, Buxar, Gaya, Jamui, Jehanabad, Kaimur, Lakhisarai, Munger, Nalanda, Patna, Rohtas, and Sheikhpura) of South Bihar through video conferencing.

In the meeting, the Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar, directed the officials to ensure the immediate transfer and operationalization of newly constructed Panchayat government buildings. The Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar, also directed the officials to start the construction of 363 Panchayat government buildings built by Gram Panchayats in these districts within a week.

The department has assigned weekly targets to the districts to immediately collect pending utilization certificates. The department is also addressing the challenges arising during the work. The Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, directed the organization of camps to achieve weekly targets. If the targets are not achieved, an explanation will be sought from the concerned District Panchayat Raj Officers and other officials, and accountability will be fixed.

During the review, it was found that the collection of utilization certificates from December 1, 2025, to December 15, 2025, was zero for Patna, Gaya, Rohtas, Bhagalpur, Sheikhpura, and Buxar. The Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar, directed the District Panchayat Raj Officers of these districts to provide an explanation.

While reviewing the expenditure against the grants received from the Government of India in light of the recommendations of the 15th Financial Commission, the Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar, directed the Deputy Development Commissioners and Additional Chief Executive Officers of the districts to obtain administrative approval for the schemes and to expedite the expenditure.

During the review of the districts, Nalanda, Aurangabad, Buxar, Jehanabad, and Nawada were found to be the five least developed districts. The Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, Bihar, directed the Deputy Development Commissioners and Additional Chief Executive Officers of these districts to provide an explanation.

The review meeting was attended by the Director of the Panchayati Raj Department, Mr. Naveen Kumar Singh, Special Secretary of the Panchayati Raj Department, Ms. Priti Tongria, Additional Secretary of the Panchayati Raj Department, Mr. Nazar Hussain, and Mr. Shams Javed Ansari, along with other officers and staff of the department.