The Integrated District Office complexes in various districts are bringing the government closer to the people
Posted Date – 11:45 PM, Sunday – 12/25/22
Hyderabad: “For the people” has been one of the driving factors of governance in Telangana. The first step towards this goal is to decentralize administration by dividing existing districts into new districts, making it easier for people from all districts in any district to reach the district headquarters.
Now the state government is taking the fruits of this initiative a step further by helping people with multiple grievances save time and energy by providing them with all services under one roof.
The Integrated District Offices Complex (IDOC) is one such concept, and it’s actually meant to serve a dual benefit — helping people meet officials easily, helping officials get their jobs done faster, and better coordination between departments.
Take for example the Jagtial IDOC recently unveiled by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. As many as 32 government offices will operate from the IDOC and the reception will direct people to the specific office or official they must contact.
For MA Faruqi, a physically disabled person from the town of Korutla who uses various apps to access different offices, the building and facilities of the new IDOC were of utmost importance. Earlier, there was no elevator in the governor’s house in Karimnagar, which made it difficult for Farooqi. “There’s an elevator facility and all the officials I need to meet are here. I don’t have to run all over town anymore,” he said.
Jagtial Collector G Ravi said that from an administrative point of view, IDOC would facilitate better oversight as other collectors and all other officers would be available in the same complex. Formerly Karimnagar has three other IDOCs including Peddapalli IDOC which was inaugurated in August and Rajanna-Sircilla IDOC which opened in July. Karimnagar IDOC is under construction.
In previous Warangal, IDOC was already operating in Hanamkonda and Jangaon in six new districts. Mahabababad’s IDOC is ready for inauguration and Bhupalpally’s IDOC will be ready in March. Land has been identified for Mulugu IDOC while efforts are underway to identify land for Warangal IDOC, officials said.
Hanamkonda collector Rajeev Gandhi Hanumanthu said the fact that IDOC accommodates all major district offices has become a great advantage for officials and the people. “Earlier, people were forced to visit offices located in different parts of the city to follow up on their grievances/complaints. Now, every district office is under the same roof. People don’t need to spend money to go from one office to another Office. For officials, they can participate in a teleconference or videoconference at short notice,” he said, adding that the crowds at the grievance day held every Monday have been reduced because by calling concerned officials to the Collector’s Office Grievances can be resolved more quickly.
RTI activist and advocate Potlapally Veerabhadra Rao said IDOC is a great advantage for people like him who visit different offices and file complaints. “We can now save time and money because all the offices are in one place,” he said.
Kothagudem IDOC is ready for the inauguration. The transfer of offices will take place shortly after the inauguration of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. According to collector Anudeep Durishetty, IDOC will play an important role in bringing the government closer to the people as the district offices of more than 45 ministries will operate under one roof.
“It’s like a one-stop shop for all government duties and for people to do any official work,” he said, adding that in terms of infrastructure, the new Collectorate is much better than the existing government offices because There is more room for cadres there. What’s more, there will be better coordination and meetings can be held on short notice.
It is planned to build two bus shelters on both sides of the road in front of IDOC for people’s convenience, and also design a pedestrian bridge for people to cross the road, IDOC is located next to IDOC on the busy NH30. He added that talks are ongoing with NHAI officials.
IDOC in Yadadri-Bhongir district has 31 offices of different departments. Speaking to Telangana Today, M Laxmaiah from Bibinagar said IDOC is helping people do different jobs in one visit. Earlier, the office of the Director of Engineers (Irrigation) was in one place and the DE office in another, making it difficult for the common man to reach both places at once.
IDOC work in Suryapet district is 70% complete and is expected to be operational in about two months. IDOC in Siddipet is the first new collections building to open in the state. After the Telangana government created the new district in October 2016, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao laid the foundation stone for the Siddipet Collectorate complex on the same day. The Collectorate was built near Rajiv Rahadhari in Duddeda. The Chief Minister inaugurated the building on 20 June 2021, where 56 departments operate under one roof.
IDOC provides facilities for people of different abilities, as well as a nursery for the children of employees and visitors, a bank, post office and several other facilities.
