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TELANGANA STATE STRATEGIC STATISTICAL STRENGTHENING & DEVELOPMENT PLAN

A draft

vision document prepared by

Telangana Asst. Statistical Officers' (ASOs) Forum

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tsasoforum

''It is the mark of a truly intelligent person to be moved by Statistics'' - George Bernard Shaw

Inspired by the Dynamic & Visionary leadership and novel thoughts of

Sri. K. Chandrashekhar Rao Garu Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana

State

PREFACE

''Statistical agencies are service organizations. Their reason for

existing, growing and making a visible contribution to the affairs of their

Government and society is rooted in their capacity to provide information for

the solution of important issues'' - United Nations Handbook of Statistical

Organization, Third Edition: The Operation and Organization of a Statistical Agency

Inspired by the dynamic leadership of Sri. K.Chandrashekhar Rao Garu,

Hon'ble Chief Minister of Telangana state who is eager to bring about a positive

change in the lives of the people of this young State, and keeping in mind the

objectives of a Government Statistical Organization as guided by the United Nations,

a humble attempt has been made in this document on behalf of young & enthusiastic

Assistant Statistical Officers (ASOs) to suggest certain reformative measures based

on ground-level experiences & study of some of the best practices followed by the

Directorates of other states of India from Jammu & Kashmir to Kerala, to strengthen

not only the Statistical system of our state from the grass roots level but also to

develop an effective mode of Constituency level planning process.

We would like to acknowledge the fact that some of the suggestions made in

this document i.e. Telangana State Strategic Statistical Strengthening &

Development Plan (TSSSDP) are based on the recommendations of National

Statistical Commission, study reports of State Strategic Statistical Plans of other

states and also the erstwhile united State Strategic Statistical Plan (APSSSP) which

was a part of the World Bank assisted India Statistical Strengthening Project (ISSP)

initiated by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI),

Government of India, with appropriate reorientation, keeping in mind the needs &

objectives of our new state of Telangana.

We are quite optimistic that at least some of the points made in this report

will be looked at positively leading to Better Statistics, for Better Planning, for a

Better Future.

Authored by:

Rameezuddin Ahmed, ASO Manthani, Ph: 8801209991 L.Veeresham, ASO Kamalapur & Ch.Vijender, ASO Bheemdevarapalli

Ph: 8332935414 Ph: 9866561643

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STRATEGIC P N ING

CONSTITUENCY statement

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TTSSSSSSDDPP I N D E X

Sl. No. Contents Page

No. PART - A

NEW STATISTICAL & PLANNING ACTIVITIES 1 Constituency Planning Board & Constituency Development Plan 1 2 Entrustment of duties related to Planning Schemes like CDP 18 3 Data Analysis & Evaluation of Schemes/Programmes 20 4 Creation of Data Hub & Family Mapping 21 5 Redesigning of DES website & creation of an Open Data Bank 26 PART - B

STRUCTURAL CHANGES & REFORMS TO STRENGTHEN THE STATE STATISTICAL & PLANNING SYSTEM

6 Renaming the post of ASO as Mandal Planning & Statistical Officer (MPSO)

29

Table I - ASOs’ various items of work & their importance 30 7 Creation of the post of a Constituency Planning & Statistical Officer

(CPSO) 33

8 Hiving Off Crop Insurance work to Agriculture Department 34 9 Detachment from Revenue Offices & creation of separate Mandal

Planning & Statistical Offices 35

10 Para-Statistician/Enumerator under ASO 37 11 Provision of ICT Infrastructure 40 12 Need for Amendment of Service Rules/Qualification of ASO 41 13 Upgrading & Restructuring of Posts 42 14 Statistical Cells in line departments & Urban local bodies 44 15 Reforms in Crop Area & Yield Statistics 45 16 Reforms in Measurement of Rainfall 47 17 Training, Reorientation & Capacity building programmes 48 18 Effective Implementation of Collection of Statistics Act, 2008 48 Annexure I 50 Annexure IB 51 Annexure IC 52

PART A

SUGGESTIONS FOR NEW STATISTICAL &

PLANNING ACTIVITIES

TS Strategic Statistical Strengthening & Development Plan – TS ASOs’ Forum 1

Constituency Planning Board:

It is submitted that a Constituency Planning Board may be set up at the level of each

Assembly Constituency, having an organic linkage with State Planning Board.

The Board could function with Hon’ble MLA as its ex-officio Chairman from the

proposed Camp Office of the MLA concerned.

A Constituency Planning & Statistical Officer (CPSO) (Nodal Officer for Planning,

Monitoring & Statistics at the Constituency level) who may be posted at the

Assembly Constituency Camp Office could be designated as the ex-officio Member

Secretary-cum-Convener of this Board. (Details about the proposed duties of CPSO

in Part B, Page No. 33).

All the ASOs working in that Constituency may be included as ex-officio members.

Govt. Officials & other Public Representatives/Members from Civil Society as

decided by the Government could be the other members.

1. Constituency Planning Board & Constituency Development Plan


Proposed Functions:

The Board may formulate & declare Constituency Development Plans/Goals aligning

with the overall priorities & policies of the State & work closely with the

Government, the private sector, NGOs, NRIs & local residents to solicit for funds,

resources & support required to implement the plans.

Prioritize and rank the Constituency’s development needs through analysis and

identification of critical problems and opportunities, considering the various

parameters & unique requirements/characteristics of the Constituency.

Identify the least services and most impoverished areas and points where funds

should be allocated based on official data & Citizens’ feedback.

Develop effective strategies to achieve the desired vision and objectives of the

Constituency.

Prepare an implementation schedule for priority programmes and projects in the

Constituency & set periodic Milestones/Targets for monitoring & aiding the

development process.

Periodical Reviews on the implementation of Plans/ Schemes/Programmes.

Analyze & evaluate the implementation of various schemes/programmes.

Constituency Strategic Development Plan:

A Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound (SMART) Constituency

Strategic Plan comprising of programs and targets, and their indicators may be

developed to chart out the direction that the constituency will take in its future

development which can be an overall framework for guiding the development process

of a particular Constituency.

Advantages:

• It provides a mechanism by which the elected representatives can understand the

problems, issues, and possible solutions from the constituents.

• It provides a mechanism for monitoring development initiatives and mobilizing

support from all the stake holders.

• It enables effective use of scarce resources by focusing on the most important needs

of local communities taking into account the resources available at local level.

• It helps to attract additional funds as Government departments and private parties

will be willing to fund where the constituents have a clear development plan.


SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis to examine the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats in the

constituency may be conducted. These analyses will be useful in identifying the strategic

issues that need to be addressed. This also helps in the formulating the vision,

objectives, strategies, and programmes for implementation in a particular Constituency

and also useful in better targeting of schemes & programmes in focus areas.

In order for statistics to inform/generate policy response, data needs to highlight

disparities across regions, gender and social groups. For example, Panchayats are being

compared on a range of indices in the state of Karnataka. Data and indices that compare

Districts, Constituencies and Administrative blocks on a range of human development

indicators would be extremely useful for Policy makers and District

administrators/Elected representatives to strive towards attaining the Sustainable

Development Goals.

Thematic mapping of villages based on various key data sets/indicators with

geographical consolidation on Parliament/ Assembly Constituency/ Division/ Mandal/

Gram Panchayat wise may be made available on an online portal for better targeting and

planning of schemes.

Even our beloved Late President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had said the following:

“Prepare database of all constituencies taking into account the current

development parameters, quality of life indices and targets for 2020 and

channelization of funds under major schemes to the intended benefit for citizens.

For accomplishing the mission of developing a Constituency, we must know its

correct parameters.”

Dr.Kalam had envisioned the following five targets for Elected Representatives (shown

in bold italics), which could guide us for preparing a Constituency Development Plan.

I. “The People’s Representative from a Constituency should assess per capita income of

people in that constituency. Before completing his/her term he should work for making

it go up by three times.”


The CPSO may take up the task of obtaining Information related to per capita income

and other parameters of the constituency. Maharashtra could serve as an example

where a survey for estimation of Block level Monthly Per Capita Expenditure with a view

to find Block level Human Development Index has been undertaken.

II. “What should be the level of literacy after five years? It should be decided by the

people’s representative. If the literacy rate is, say, 65 percent, he should find ways to

increase it to 80 to 85 percent.”

The CPSO with the assistance of ASOs concerned of that Constituency could assist the

MLA in this task by identifying areas which have low levels of literacy and inadequate

educational infrastructure and plan for improving the literacy level and educational

infrastructure.

III. “Similarly representatives of the people should concentrate on protecting water

resources available in that constituency.”

The CPSO with the assistance of ASOs could assist the Elected Representative to identify

the Water and other important Natural resources, and help devise plans to protect &

augment them.

IV. “The important resources in an area should be known and assessed. In certain

places agriculture is the main occupation; elsewhere commercial crops; again in some

fisheries. So each constituency exhibits a special character; in five years the capacities

and capabilities should be enhanced.”

The CPSO with the assistance of ASOs concerned of a Constituency can use their

knowledge and data base in fulfilling the above-mentioned task and help to devise Area-

specific Development plans keeping in mind the unique characteristics of that

Constituency.

V. “People’s representatives should also strive for reducing child mortality rate.”

The CPSO along with MPSOs concerned can provide information about various health

parameters and assist the People’s Representative in striving to improve the health

standards and infrastructure of the people living in that constituency.


Constituency Development Card:

Government has embarked on a novel initiative of District Development Card

showing allocation of district wise & department wise funds in the Budget.

This card may be prepared further up to the level of Assembly Constituency.

Each MLA will be able to know the amount earmarked for that Constituency &

department wise budgetary allocation made for a particular Constituency.

Constituency Planning Board chaired by the MLA can monitor the progress &

periodically review the implementation of the schemes with the help of this card.

The CPSO may work as a Coordinating Officer/Liaison with all the

Departments/Officials in the aforesaid task.

Constituency Score Card:

It is inspired from the concept of Parliamentary Score Card devised by African

Leadership Institute.

Each Assembly Constituency may share its performance card and disseminate it

among the people.

It will help in creating awareness among the people about the developments

in the constituency and also assess the performance of their respective MLA.

It may be prepared by the CPSO through an online mechanism.

It may include Key Result Areas and measures of performance on a periodical

basis like

Take into account Plan/Allocations vs. actual Utilization of Development Funds.

Progress of Publicly funded schemes/programmes

Statistics of various Socio-economic parameters.

Participation of MLA in Assembly and other official meetings.

A picture of a village level study of Bheemdevarapally village of Karimnagar District,

conducted by Development Management Institute, Patna with the assistance of

Assistant Statistical Officer of Bheemdevarapally mandal is pasted below which can

be replicated at the Constituency level for preparation of a Constituency

Development Plan with appropriate modifications.


Model components of some of the sub-sectors which can be included in the

Constituency level plan based on official statistics are as follows:


Source: SERP, Karimnagar Strategic Interventions in Housing Sub-sector Problems & Causes

Objectives Target Areas Strategies & Programs

Performance Indicators

Monitoring/ Evaluation Tools

Implementing agents/ Collaborators

Lack of Housing facilities Poverty

Provision of affordable Housing Provision of Employment opportunities

Jammikunta, Kamalapur,etc SCs & BCs

2BHK Housing scheme Assistance for self-employment

No. of Houses constructed No. of units sanctioned

Site visits Reports

Housing Department SC & BC Welfare Departments

Rainfall deviation Percentage over Normal Rainfall in Huzurabad Constituency

Source: CPO Office, Karimnagar


The above chart shows that the Rainfall in all the Mandals of Huzurabad Assembly Constituency has been inconsistent over the months in this year. There is a negative deviation of Rainfall below Normal during the months of July & August during the Kharif season & again in November & December during the Rabi season of the year 2015.

Paddy Crop sown Areas in Huzurabad Constituency

The above chart shows that in all the Mandals of Huzurabad Constituency, the area sown of Paddy crop has fallen below normal. This can be attributed to adverse seasonal conditions like deficit Rainfall especially during the months of July & August resulting in scarcity of water.


The above two charts show that there has been a marginal increase in area sown of Cotton & Maize crops which are less water intensive.

Total Crop sown particulars of Huzurabad Constituency

Source: CPO Office, Karimnagar


The above two charts show that there has been a significant reduction in Crop area sown when compared with Normal areas in all the Mandals of Huzurabad Constituency, i.e. a total of 8339 hectares during the season of Kharif, 2015. Strategic Interventions in Agricultural Sub-sector Problems & Causes

Objectives Target Areas

Strategies & Programs


Monitoring/ Evaluation Tools

Implementing agents/ Collaborators

Reduction in Crop area sown Adverse seasonal conditions like Deficit Rainfall,etc Adherence to traditional old farming

Increase in Crop Area Reducing Dependancy on Rainfall

Huzurabad & Veenavanka Mandals

Diversification of crops to Drought resistant varieties Integrated Watershed Management Drip & Sprinkler Irrigation methods Greenhouse & Polyhouse Cultivation Training programmes to farmers

Increase in area sown of crops like Pulses, Millets, seeds etc. No. of Drip & Sprinkler irrigation units grounded. No. of greenhouse & polyhouse units

Field visits Reports

Agriculture Department Horticulture Department Planning Department

Source: 9th World Agricultural Census.


The above two charts show that The above two charts show that 90 percent of Land holdings in Huzurabad Constituency fall under Small & Marginal category, i.e. below 2 hectares of land, while it is as high as 97 percent for Scheduled castes.


The above two charts show that while the overall Percentage of Landholdings below 1 hectare is 71 percent in Huzurabad Constituency, it is as high as 88 percent when we consider Landholdings of Scheduled Castes. Strategic Interventions in Agricultural Sub-sector Problems & Causes


Strategies & Programmes


Monitoring And Evaluation Tools

Implementing Agents/ Collaborators

Low Income to Farmers Small size of Farmland High cost of farm inputs

Enhancing the income generation capacity of people in Rural areas especially Farmers Reducing dependency on Agriculture

Huzurabad & Veenavanka SCs & STs

Adoption of latest technology & new methods of Farming to increase productivity Zero-based & Organic farming Promotion of Agricultural allied sectors like Dairy, Poultry, Sheep & Goat rearing,Fisheries, Sericulture, Apiculture, etc. Value addition facilities to agricultural produce Establishment of Cold storages & Agro-based Industries like Food processing units,etc.

Per capita income of farmers No. of Dairy farms, Milk Chilling & Collection Centers No. of Animal Husbandry scheme units sanctioned No. of Agrobased industries

Reports Frequent meetings with Farmers Reviews with Dept. concerned

Agriculture Department Horticulture Department Animal Husbandry Fisheries Dept. Rural Development Dept.


From the above chart, it can be seen that the proportion of Main workers in Agricultural sector (includes both Cultivators & Agricultural labour) out of Total main workers is vey high in Veenavanka & Kamalapur Mandals & less in Huzurabad & Jammikunta mandals. Note: As per Census definition, those workers who had worked for the major part of the reference period (i.e. 6 months or more) are termed as Main Workers. Work is defined as participation in any economically productive activity with or without compensation, wages or profit.

From the above chart, it can be seen that the decadal population growth rate is highest in Jammikunta mandal & quite low in the remaining mandals. This can be attributed to migration from the other mandals due to lack of adequate income from Farming on one side & availability of alternative sources of livelihood in Jammikunta mandal on the other. This not only calls for adequate planning for improvement of civic amenities & infrastructure in Jammikunta mandal but also for devising plans to generate alternate sources of employment in the other three mandals of the Huzurabad Constituency.


Strategic Interventions for Employment Generation Problems & Causes

Objectives

Target Areas





Over-dependence on Agriculture Lack of alternative sources of livelihood in Rural areas Traditional educational System. Low level of Skills Disguised Un-employment

Promotion of alternate sources of Livelihood opportunities Creation of Self-Employment Opportunities

Kama-lapur Veena-vanka Youth Studen-ts

Creating an eco-system for encouraging Rural startups Special incentives for starting Industries in Rural areas Encouraging Handlooms /Handicrafts/ Cottage Industries/ Micro & small scale Industries Partnership with Private sector Youth & Male Self Help Groups/ Co-operative Societies Online & Offline Market linkage to products of rural artisans Subsidies & Value addition programmes to products of traditional occupations Vocational Training & Skill Development Programmes

Growth rate of Job creation No. of new units registered Decline in out-migration from rural areas

Surveys Reports Field Visits

PR & Rural Development Dept Agriculture & allied Depts. Industries Dept. IT Department Private Companies/ NGOs BC, SC, ST & Minority Welfare departments


Source: SLAP Data Strategic Interventions in Educational Sub-sector Problems & Causes






Low rate of Literacy Adult illiteracy Female illiteracy Lack of adequate facilities for Girls

Universal literacy levels

Women

Adults

Out of school

School dropouts

Migrant & Child labour

Adult & female literacy programmes

Evening schools

Classes to SHGs members

Improvement of essential facilities in schools

Improvement in enrollment ratios Decrease in school dropouts Increase in literacy levels

Survey reports Meetings

Education Department . Saakshar Bharat & NSS Volunteers NGOs Colleges & Universities


Sex Ratio in Huzurabad Assembly Constituency

Source: Census, 2011 Strategic Interventions for Gender Improvement Problems & Causes





Decrease in the Sex Ratio especially Child sex ratio Female feticide Male preference

Improvement in Child sex ratio through various awareness & legal measures

Jammikunta Kamalapur

Social awareness & Sensitization programmes Strict implementation of ban on Sex determination tests. Immediate Financial & other benefits to the parents of girl child Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Programme

Field Survey Reports Enrollment ratio in schools

Health Department Women & Child Welfare Dept. NGOs SHGs Religious groups

Source: Irrigation Dept.


Strategic Interventions for Protection of Water bodies Problems & Causes


Strategies & Programmes Monitoring & Evaluation Tools

Implementing Agents

Un authorized occupation Illegal Activities

Augmentation and Protection of Resources

All

Fixing the boundaries Encouragement to Fisheries Inspections Forming Village Protection/ Development Committees and fixing the responsibility to preserve, develop and protect the resources

Reports Site Visits Mission Kakatiya Progress reports

Revenue Department . Fisheries Dept. Irrigation Department

. The C&AG as part of its Audit, during the year 2010-11 had reviewed the

implementation of ‘Assembly Constituency Development Programme'

(ACDP)/‘Constituency Development Programme’ (CDP). Some of the important

observations & suggestions of the C&AGs report are quoted below to show how the

services of an ASO/MPSO can be utilized to fill the gaps in the implementation of CDP

scheme.

10.2.7 Recommendations of CAG

“Government should also put in place appropriate monitoring mechanism to ensure

that the sanctioned works are completed within the stipulated timeframe of nine

months for immediate fulfillment of the requirements of the local people”

Photographs of some of the incomplete works taken up under CDP in sampled districts

2. Entrustment of duties related to Planning schemes, CDP works, etc


The services of ASOs/MPSOs could be utilized by empowering them to monitor the

progress of completion works on the ground & send reports in this regard through

an online mechanism which may be available to see for all the stakeholders like MLA

concerned, District & State level authorities. The progress of works can also be

reviewed by the Constituency Planning Board on a periodical basis.

CAG report under Para 10.2.3.5: Overlapping works

“We observed that, in 12 constituencies in three districts, 25 works were shown as

executed both under ACDP (2005-08) (estimated cost: 49.90 lakh) as well as MPLAD

scheme (estimated cost: ` 51.55 lakh) with same/similar nomenclature.

“’The CPOs stated (March-April 2011) that there was no mechanism with them to

verify the overlapping works among different schemes.”

“Government confirmed (December 2011) that there was no mechanism with the

district authorities to verify the overlapping works among different schemes.”

Admittedly, as there is no mechanism with the District Authorities to verify overlapping

works among different schemes, this challenge could be overcome if the proposals for

works under CDP or other similar schemes are sent by the MLA through Constituency

Planning & Statistical Officer who may seek a ground report from the ASO/MPSO

concerned in this regard beforehand. The report/check list among other things could

contain the details as to whether the asset proposed to be created under the proposed

work already exists in that locality and whether a similar work has been sanctioned/ in-

progress under any other Government scheme.


10.2.5 Inspections of Works

“As per the scheme guidelines, 10 per cent of the works taken up under the

programme are to be inspected by the nodal agency/district authorities.”

The nodal agency/district authorities could delegate the responsibility of inspection

of works to CPSO along with ASOs/MPSOs by modifying the scheme-guidelines.

All the aforesaid changes could ensure utilization of CDP funds in a systematic manner

based on the actual needs of the people and lead creation of durable & sustainable

assets for the development of a Constituency.

''Analysis is one of those functions that should be carried out by the national

statistical office as well as by those outside the Government. It is important to the

intellectual vitality of a statistical office that members of its staff critique the process and

models used to produce the data as well as discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the

data. This is important for the growth of individual staff members and for the office in its

quest to improve the quality of its data.''

- UN Handbook of Statistical Organizations.

We feel that the purpose of collecting Official data is not just for the sake of Statistics but

the ultimate “Purpose” of official Statistics is for the sake of betterment of People at

large. There is need to understand the data, analyze and present the data to gain insights

and feed into the decision making process. In fact, many states are already involved in

this endeavor. For example:

The DES of Jammu & Kashmir conducts in-depth evaluation and impact

assessment of development programmes/projects/schemes selected by SLEC.

The DES of Kerala conducts ad-hoc surveys of current interest, Rapid Rural

Appraisals, Ad-hoc field enquiries etc. on various aspects of Socio-Economic

Development, checks whether the annual plans of local bodies are as per

Government norms, and monitors plan schemes of local bodies.

3. Data Analysis & Evaluation of Schemes/Programmes


Evaluation section of Punjab Economic & Statistical Organization undertakes

evaluation surveys and studies regarding plan programmes/schemes to identify

bottlenecks in their implementation and give suggestions for necessary corrective

measures

DES, Maharashtra undertakes evaluation of various schemes of the state and

suggests remedial measures.

DES Karnataka makes it compulsory for the departments to undertake analysis of

data collected by them and ensure Annual Administration Reports contain analysis

of data. Some of the sample studies undertaken by DES, Karnataka include

Evaluation of Old age Pensions, Study on Micro irrigation, Rural Drinking Water

Supply scheme, etc.

The aforesaid activities may be taken up in our State in all the Constituencies. Assistant

Statistical Officers are enthusiastic to take up such kind of activities and contribute for

the well-being of people with the help of a proper support system in place (discussed in

Part B of this document).

The National Statistical Commission in its report had recommended that:

“The data compiled by all Government departments at the village and block level in

respect of the identified variables/indicators should be supplied to the Block

Statistical Assistant periodically, who will maintain the block level data and also

disseminate the same to the Panchayats/local bodies on one hand and to the district

on the other hand.

A system for ensuring a regular flow of information from all the Government

departments to the block level statistical personnel should be established”

(Para 9.2.22)

4. Creation of a Data Hub & Family Mapping


Appropriate ICT tools could be designed and developed in such a manner that the flow

of Data and aggregation is automatically done at the level of each Administrative and

Constituency unit without any duplication of data collection.

The proposed Mandal Planning & Statistical Offices (elaborated in Part B of this

document) could serve not only as a Data Hub & Planning Cells at the Mandal level but

also as an Administrative Intelligence Unit of the Government for accessing ground-

level information and inputs about the implementation of various schemes and

programmes of the Government, through periodical reports which could be very useful

for effective Governance and improved delivery of Public services and schemes. These

reports could be sent through an online mechanism and accessible to persons seated at

the highest administrative levels at the click of a button.

Other Uses of Data Hub:

“A centralised database of the citizens of the country with a system of issuing a

unique identification number/card has several potential benefits to its citizens

and will improve the efficiency of administration. The project, if implemented,

will have obvious benefits to the statistical system.”

(Para 9.2.27 of the report of National Statistical Commission)

Our Government may consider launching a scheme like “Bhamashah” of Rajasthan state

which is one of its kind of scheme where all benefits- cash and non-cash, e.g. services of

Public Distribution System (PDS), Education Scholarships, payment under MNREGA and

Social Security Pensions, benefits of other schemes like Indra Awas Yojana, CM BPL

Awas , Janani Suraksha Yojana, Unemployment Allowance, Skill Development Trainings,

other individual Beneficiary Scheme and many other services will be routed through

Bhamashah Scheme. Multiple cash benefits of all the family members of a

household would be accessed through the Bhamshah Card and will be transferred to

bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Non-cash benefits would be given directly to entitled

beneficiaries. The responsibility to implement the “BHAMASHAH YOJANA” has

been assigned to DES of Rajasthan, District Statistical Offices and Block Statistical

Offices (BSOs).


Proposed Family Benefits Card Present Aadhaar

Family approach

End to End service delivery platform that includes :

o identity, o entitlements, o benefit transfer & disbursement

Individual approach

To provide unique identity only to individuals.

Programme for Financial Inclusion :

o Mandatory bank account linkage

No such facility

Women Empowerment : o The bank account has to be necessarily in name of lady of the house

No such thought

Points of service at all Panchayats in rural areas and wards in urban areas.

Forward linkage not adequately planned.

Unified Platform for all Govt. Schemes through a single online portal.

Data would be used as a single point source for all Government Depts.

No such thought

Transaction mapping of a family for proper identification & targeting of beneficiaries.

No such thought

INTEGRATED DATA SEEDING OF A FAMILY


Family Mapping:

Under the Scheme, the Family is mapped correctly and single unique data set for the

residents of the state is made. Thus, duplication is checked. All demographics and socio

economic parameters are included to work out entitlements under various Government

Schemes. Therefore, the scheme will eventually cover beneficiaries at all levels across

the State. Bhamashah Scheme leverages bank account opened under Pradhan Mantri

Jandhan Yojna for achieving financial inclusion. Aadhaar linking of the Bhamashah ID &

Bank Accounts with the individual departmental databases is also being done at the

backend so that the DBT may be applied in the first phase for PDS, MNREGA, Social

Security Pensions, Scholarships transactions etc.

Data Seeding:

As the second stage of the scheme, the benefits of all the schemes of the govt. will be

transferred to the Bhamashah card holder through Bhamashah Portal. To transfer cash

benefits or provide services with biometric identifications, the data of concerning

department is being linked (i.e. seeding) with Bhamashah Data Hub. The work of

seeding are under process at District and Block level.

Transaction Mapper:

A tool for consolidating transactions both cash and non-cash pertaining to a family, very

useful in bringing in awareness and transparency and helping Government in proper

selection of beneficiaries, designing of new schemes and taking policy decisions.

Considering the importance given by our State Government to welfare schemes and

huge allocation of budget in this regard, our State Government could also consider

launching a similar scheme like ‘’Bhamshah’’ and give Biometric Household cards

containing SKS (Samagra Kutumba Survey) number to all the residents of our state. The

Government could integrate all the welfare schemes with a unique household number

which was generated after SKS survey for each household in our state along with

Aadhaar number which could be further linked to a Bank Account that is in the name of

lady of the house who is head of the family. It can serve as an end-to-end service

delivery platform to transfer cash and non-cash benefits to targeted beneficiaries in a

transparent manner. All the Government subsidies and transactions like salaries,


pensions and payment of bills to contractors should be linked to SKS household number

as far as possible so that there is no leakage of Subsidies and misuse of Welfare schemes.

The website of Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES) may be fully redesigned,

following the examples of other states. It could serve as a repository of all the data of the

State and have a “Data Bank” like DES of Maharashtra and also other states for use by

Policy makers, Investors, Businessmen, Researchers, Educational institutions, and

members of civil society. The proposed Open Data Bank could include data regarding

all sectors from all Government departments and private agencies. All the Government

websites of the state may be linked to the Data bank of DES. It could serve as a one stop

solution for all the Data needs of any interested party and will be extremely useful to

attract prospective investors.

The website could also contain thematic maps of based on various key data

sets/indicators with geographical consolidation on various administrative levels.

Data Grid Network:

It is essential to create a network between the Nodal Agency (DES) & i) Line Depts at

State, District & Mandal levels ii) Offices of DES at District/Constituency/Mandals iii)

Other Agencies, for automatic flow of data & aggregation at all levels.

• Need to create Web Applications & give access to LDOs to get the required data fields

• A strong mechanism to continuously monitor the flow of information from the LDOs.

• Data that is entered/generated by the LDOs will reach the Server installed at DES

• We need to develop a well furnished IT wing at DES equipped with High End Web-

Servers/Data-Servers and qualified IT staff (viz., Web Application Developers, System

Administrators, Data Base Administrators)

• Web portal of the DES will issue online instructions. If any department fails to upload

information in time, automatic SMS & email alerts may be sent to the Dept/Official

concerned.

• Fast reaction team to resolve the issues in data flow.

• Data Analytics team to analyze the data received.

• Data warehouse concept comes into picture.

5. Redesigning of DES website & creation of an Open Data Bank


Web-Server Data-Server

Line Depts. (HODs)

CPO Offices at Districts

Other Agencies

OPEN DATA BANK at DES (Nodal Agency)

Line Dept. Offices at Districts

Line Departments at

Divisions & Mandals

DATA GRID NETWORK

Functionary of DES at

Constituency & Mandals


Telangana Economic & Statistical News Letter may be released quarterly not only

offline but also online on the website of DES containing information about latest

developments in the field of Economics and Statistics, Key Economic Indicators of the

State, results of various Surveys, analyses of schemes and programmes and other news

of the Organization.

PART B

SOME STRUCTURAL CHANGES & REFORMS TO STRENGTHEN THE STATE STATISTICAL &

PLANNING SYSTEM


Brief Background:

For any organization to succeed, a strong and robust base is very essential. Assistant

Statistical Officers (ASO) who are attending to several items of work (shown in Table I),

much beyond what is stated in their Official Job Chart, are the real pillars of the

Organization working under the control of Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES),

Govt. of Telangana, and are normally found to be the single most qualified and

competent personnel at the Mandal-level, as the said posts are recruited completely on

merit by direct recruitment, with Graduation as the minimum qualification, through the

State Public Service Commission under Executive Category, whereas, other Mandal

level Officials like Tahsildar, MPDO, MAO, etc are recruited mostly through promotions

even without Graduation at entry-level. It is normally felt that the vast potential of such

an intellectual mind is being utilized mostly in routine works like conducting Crop

Cutting Experiments and other Enumeration works which could otherwise be

performed by any undergraduate, and hence, we suggest some new initiatives and

activities to be undertaken by ASOs and also our Department in future.

The SSSP report in Para 2.28 & 2.29 had recommended for the creation of a second

post of ASO at Mandal level to attend to the Planning programmes and monitor all

the developmental programmes in addition to attending the Industries and Service

Sector Statistics & Socio Economic Surveys.

Instead of creating a second post of ASO at Mandal Level which may cause financial

burden to the State's Finances and also lead to multiplicity of similar posts at Mandal-

level, it is submitted that the nomenclature of the post of ASO may be renamed as

Mandal Planning & Statistical Officer (MPSO) along with provision of support system

(as elaborated in this document) and be made as a Nodal Officer for all Planning &

related activities at Mandal level to monitor and supervise the progress of various

Planning & developmental activities as proposed in the Part A of this document.

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."

- Albert Einstein

6. Renaming the post of ASO as Mandal Planning & Statistical Officer


(Table – I)

VARIOUS ITEMS OF WORK BEING ATTENDED TO BY ASSISTANT STATISTICAL OFFICERS (A.S.Os) & ITS IMPORTANCE

Sl.No WHAT AN A.S.O. DOES HOW IS IT USEFUL FOR THE STATE

AND THE NATION

1

Collects Rainfall data every

morning & compilation of Rainfall

Statistics.

1. Used to study procedure of drought

& famine conditions.

2. Vital role in plan formation of Irrigation

projects and flood control measures

3. To monitor the progress of Agricultural

Operations in an area & advise farmers on

the cultivation practices.

4. For assessing fluctuations and recharging

of ground water levels.

2.

Prepares Weekly & Monthly

Seasonal & Crop Conditions

reports.

1. To know the effect of rainfall on

Agricultural operations.

2. To know the Water position in irrigation

sources.

3. Condition of Standing Crops, Stage of

harvest operations.

4.Other issues like availability of drinking

water, fodder, outbreak of epidemics,

seasonal problems and their effects, etc.

3.

Prepares Advance estimates of

Crop-wise areas.

1. To assess the sufficiency of estimated

production for People.

2.To Plan & take policy decisions to regulate

Market fluctuations, Public distribution,

EXIM (Export & Import) policies, MSP,etc.

4. Prepares Kharif & Rabi

Agricultural Abstracts.

To know the Crop-wise area sown

particulars and Land Utilization

Particulars and calculate the contribution of

Agriculture to Gross State Domestic

Product (GSDP) & GDP of Nation.

5.

Conducts & Supervises Crop

Cutting Experiments

(General & under MNAIS)

1. For arriving at the Production estimates

of Crops & Average yields of crops.

2. Used to calculate Yield loss to protect

farmers by mitigating losses incurred by

them.


6. Minor Irrigation Census &

Computerization

To study & know the availability of

different Minor Irrigation Sources at

village level.

7.

Other types of Census like

World Agricultural Census,

Census of Land Holdings, etc.

1.Helps for collection & derivation of

quantitative information about structure

of Agriculture in Country.

2. For taking decisions for development of

Agriculture at micro level.

8.

Conducts

Annual Survey of Industries

(Regular & under APSSSP) &

other Industrial Statistics.

1. For estimation of contribution of

Manufacturing sector to the State’s

income & in turn to National

Income(GDP & GSDP).

2. For studying various factors influencing

the industries in the country and for

Formulation of policies.

9.

Collects

Monthly Production reports

from Industries of the Mandal.

1.Compilation of Index of Industrial

Production (IIP) which is used in

Government for policy making & in

Banking & Corporate Sectors for

decision making.

10.

Collects Price Statistics:

1. Daily & Weekly Retail & Wholesale

Prices of Essential Commodities

2. Prices for Labour Bureau

3. Agricultural Prices for each season

4. Wages for Agricultural & Non-

Agricultural Labour

5. Wholesale Prices of Live-stock and

Live-stock products

6. Prices of Building material & Wage

rates of Construction Labour.

7. Farm Harvest Prices

1. To monitor prices of Essential

commodities for the benefit of consumers

& to ensure affordable prices.

2. To construct Consumer Price Indices like

Consumer Price Index(CPI(IW)) & WPI

which is used to compile Inflation data.

3. Regulation of Dearness Allowance(D.A)

of all workers & employees of both Private

& Public Sector through CPI (IW).

3. Implementation of Minimum Wages for

Industrial workers & also in MGREGS by

using CPI(Agricultural Labour).

4. To estimate GSDP & GDDP.

5. To study the market trends &

Consumption pattern & to know the

Cost of living.

6. To know the changes in Economy


11.

12.

Conducts various Socio

Economic Surveys of National

Sample Survey Office (NSSO)

& Computerizes the data

obtained.

Conducts Surveys of Labour Bureau, Govt. of India

1.To know the various Socio-economic

parameters and study the Socio-economic

conditions of the people like estimation of

Households/Persons the Below the Poverty

Line through study of Monthly Per Capita

Expenditure, Consumption patterns, data on

Household enterprises, Land Holdings, Debt

& Investment Surveys, Un-organized

manufacturing Enterprises, studies on Health

& Education, Tourism, etc.

2.To know & study the pattern of prevailing

Employment & Un-Employment rates

13.

Collects, Compiles &

Computerizes Annual Accounts

of Local Bodies.

For analysis and capturing the contribution

of Local Bodies for Macro Economic

Aggregates viz. GSDP & Gross Fixed

Capital Formation.

14. Prepares and updates Statistics

for Local Area Planning(SLAP)

Helpful in preparation of development

plans at the local level.

15.

Population Census and other

ad-hoc census like Socio-

Economic & Caste Census, etc.

For publication of Census of India and

various Social statistics.

Like an All-rounder, undertakes any other survey or new work entrusted by our

Department & other departments from time to time like

16. Mana Ooru Mana Pranalika 17. Addl. C.C.s,

18. National Population Register(NPR) 19. Inspection & Report of AWSs

20. Samagra Kutumba Survey 21. Grama Jyothy,

22. Election duties 23. Pensions & Food Security Cards work

24. Drought Assessment 25. Haritha Haram,

26. Supervision of BLOs 27. Supervision of Crop booking

28. Double Bed Room Houses Selection

29. Handbook of Statistics &

29. All other Field & Office/Clerical works being forced in Tahsildar’s Office.


An important recommendation of SSSP in Para 2.20 report was to sanction 2 (two) more

posts of Dy. Statistical Officer of DES Cadre at Divisional level and one post of Statistical

Officer at Divisional Level.

Instead, it is submitted that Planning Divisions taking an Assembly Constituency as a

unit may be created with a post of Statistical Officer of DES Cadre at the level of each

Assembly Constituency who could be posted as Constituency Planning & Statistical

Officer (CPSO) in the respective Camp Offices of the MLAs, which are going to be set up

by our Government. CPSO may be designated as Nodal Officer for all the Planning,

Monitoring & Statistical activities at the Constituency level as discussed in Part A of

this document. Some of the proposed functions of CPSO are indicated below :

1. Work as an ex-officio Member-Secretary-cum-Convener of Constituency

Planning Board.

2. Formulation of Constituency Development Plans & Strategies keeping in view

the various parameters & unique characteristics of that Constituency & work for

proper channelization of funds for development of the Constituency

3. Preparation of Constituency Score Card by including Key Result Areas, measures

of performance, & showing utilization of funds on a periodical basis.

4. Coordinate/Liaison with various Departments/Officials & Convene meetings to

review the progress of various activities at the Constituency level.

5. Preparation, frequent update & maintenance of Data base of the Constituency by

collection & compilation of the data from Mandal Planning & Statistical Officers &

other Departments/Officials.

6. Analysis and interpretation of Statistics at Constituency level & submitting the

results to the MLA & Constituency Planning Board.

7. Preparation of comparative statements to highlight disparities across regions,

gender and social groups & compare Administrative blocks on a range of human

development indicators among different areas within the Constituency.

8. Monitor the progress of works under Constituency Development Scheme & other

similar Government schemes & programmes.

9. Conduct ad-hoc Evaluation studies for effective implementation of Government

schemes & programmes in the Constituency.

7. Creation of a post of Constituency Planning & Statistical Officer


Para 3.6.16 of SSSP Report rightly recommended about Modified National

Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS) that

''The scope and coverage of the scheme is increasing year by year. Number of CC

Experiments to be conducted for crop Insurance Scheme is increasing and at present it is

around 1.50 lakhs and with the introduction of MNAIS in Rabi Season, it is likely to reach

over 2.00 lakh C.C. Experiments in a year. Presently, to handle this increased workload

part-time employees are engaged, besides Statistical Personnel of the DES and Agriculture

Department. This work is being done for the National Agricultural Insurance

Company and the workload is increasing substantially, which has put additional

burden and great stress on field staff of the DES, besides there are no statistical

outputs coming from this work, as such it is recommended that this work be hived

off from the DES and entrusted to an independent autonomous government

institution or to Agriculture department”.

It is worth mentioning that in many states, not only under Crop Insurance schemes, but

even under General Crop Estimation Surveys (GCES), the Crop Cutting experiments are

totally conducted by either Agriculture or Revenue Departments while Department of

Economics and Statistics provides technical guidance in selection process of

experimental plots.

Further, in almost all the states of India, it is the Agriculture Department which

totally implements the Crop Insurance schemes including Crop Cutting

Experiments and the role of Directorate of Economics & Statistics, if any is confined

only to technical guidance in Planning of Experiments.

Because of MNAIS in both Kharif and Rabi seasons, almost Eight (8) months of time and

efforts are being dedicated entirely to this activity and the regular statistical works of

ASOs are getting hampered, whereas the Agriculture Department takes minimal

responsibility for the implementation of this scheme on the ground level though each

Agricultural Office has its own Statistical cell at District level and field staff at Mandal

and village levels. Even the support & cooperation of Farmers at the Village level is

8. Hiving Off Crop Insurance Scheme work to Agriculture Department


decreasing day by day due to inherent deficiencies of crop Insurance scheme taking

village as a unit.

In view of the aforesaid facts & recommendations of SSSP Report, & also considering the

fact that a huge number of posts of Agricultural Extension Officers have been sanctioned

in our State, it is submitted that it will be in the best interests of both the Departments

to hive off the work of Crop Insurance Scheme (PM Fasal Bima Yojana from Kharif,

2016) from DES and entrusted to Agriculture Department as prevalent in most of

the States of India or outsourced to any other independent agency like in the state of

Punjab.

''A strong position of independence is essential for a statistical organization in

order to establish credibility among its users and create a relationship of mutual

respect and trust''

'The acquisition and maintenance of adequate office space and equipment can

contribute not only to efficiency but also to the well-being and satisfaction of the staff.

Moreover, suitable accommodation, facilitating ready communication between people

working in related fields, is conducive to the integration of statistics because, in a real

sense, the successful integration of statistical end-products is contingent upon the

integration of the statisticians''

- UN Handbook of Statistical Organizations.

Though, in accordance with G.O.Ms. No. 13 Dated: 10-5-2002 of the Planning(XI)

Department, ASOs are completely under the administrative control and direct

supervision of the Chief Planning Officers (CPOs), there is unbearable pressure on ASOs

from Tahsildars & Dy. Tahsildars to attend to the work of Revenue Department,

even as G.O.Ms.16 Dated 4.11.2009 of Planning (Estt.) Department clearly prohibits

entrustment of Non-statistical items of work on ASOs & instructs the ASOs to not

deviate from the works specified in the Job Chart.

9. Detachment from Revenue Offices & creation of separate Mandal Planning & Statistical Offices


Most often, ASOs are surrounded and hounded by the Revenue-Staff who

overwhelmingly out number an ASO as he/she is seated in their Office and totally

dependent upon them from Pen to Paper without any table or chair of their own (Parent

Department). Quite naturally, ASOs succumb to their pressures and start attending to

their clerical work like issuing of various Certificates like Birth & Death, Family

Members, Legal Heir and many other Non-statistical items of work of Revenue

Department. Meanwhile, the Official duties of ASOs get severely hampered. If any ASO

refuses to deviate from the Official duties, then the Tahsildars even refuse to put their

signatures on the reports prepared by ASOs and there have been many instances where

even the chair of ASO has been removed from the office.

The argument that the seat of an ASO needs to be in Tahsildar’s Office so that Pahanis

can be accessed from the Village Revenue Officers no longer holds good as the Revenue

Department has made all the Pahanies and Land use information freely available online

to everyone on their website.

It is worth mentioning that in several smaller and progressive states like Jammu &

Kashmir, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Block level Statistical Offices are functioning

smoothly and even the limited staff-members of Agriculture Department of our state,

& National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), who work under the control of Ministry of

Statistics & Programme Implementation, Govt. of India are able to function

independently and discharge their duties in a free manner as they are dedicated

entirely to Statistical work since there is no pressure of doing other Department’s work

from any other Official.

In fact, as per the recommendations of National Statistical Commission headed by

eminent economist Dr. C. Rangarajan:

“In view of the renewed importance of the Block Statistical Organisation in the

context of local area planning, the State Governments should bring it directly within

the fold of the States’ Statistical System by either transferring the organisation to

their Directorates of Economics and Statistics, or by making it responsible for its

statistical work to the Directorate and bringing it under the Directorate’s technical

supervision through the district statistical organization”


the SSSP study reports of Rajasthan recommended that the statistical personnel

stationed in Revenue Department may be moved to Block Statistical Cell or office

which has been accepted and implemented by the state of Rajasthan along with

construction of Block Statistical Offices with the full financial support of

Government of India under ISSP Tamil Nadu has constructed Block level

Statistical Inspector Offices under SSSP Project in the premises of Block Development

Offices of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Department. (akin to MPDO Offices).

Even the state of Punjab has approved the construction of Block Statistical Offices

under SSSP in the already existing Block Development & Panchayat officer’s Office (akin

to MPDO).

The Government of Telangana may even consider revising the MoU with the GoI, if

possible, and obtain funds under ISSP for construction of Mandal level Statistical Offices

following the example of states like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu & Punjab.

In view of the aforementioned facts and circumstances, it is submitted that the post of

ASO may be detached from the Office of Tahsildar and posted at the Office of MPDO

until a separate Office of Mandal Planning & Statistical Officer is constructed within

the premises of the Office of MPDO, along with provision of proper support staff and

infrastructure.

Instead of creating a second post of ASO as recommended in Para 2.28 & 2.29 of the

SSSP Report, it is submitted that two posts of Para-Statisticians may be recruited

through contract or outsourcing means who could work as an Enumerator/Field

Investigator–cum- Computor/Data Entry operator to look after all the primary level

field works like Door to door surveys, Crop Cutting Experiments and also

computerization/data-entry works at the Mandal level under the immediate supervision

of ASO/ MPSO, so that an ASO/MPSO can concentrate on Planning and monitoring

works in an efficient manner. It is worth mentioning that while other Mandal level

Officers have one or more support staff directly working under them while an ASO has

to single-handedly discharge the duties without any direct subordinates. The following

table shows the support-staff working under various Mandal level Officers.

10. Para-Statistician/Enumerator under ASO/MPSO


Table II Table showing the Support-staff working under various Mandal-level Posts

Sl.No Name of the Post Support-staff Department

1 Agricultural Officer Agricultural Extension Officers Agriculture Department

2 Deputy Tahsildar

Senior Assistant, Junior

Assistants &Typist

Field-staff: MRIs, VROs, VRAs Revenue Department

3

Executive Officer

(E.O)

Panchayat Secretaries

Kaarobaars

Panchayat Raj & Rural

Development Dept.

4

Mandal Revenue

Inspector

Village Revenue Officers

Village Revenue Assistants Revenue Department

5 C.D.P.O

Supervisors (Gr.I & II)

AWWs & AWHs

Office Staff: Senior Asst.,

Junior Asst., & Typist

Women & Child Welfare

Dept.

6 Asst. Engineer

Work Inspectors & Computer

Operator Housing Department

7

Asst. Project

Manager (APM) Cluster Co-ordinators, VOAs

Rural Development

Department

8

Addl. Programme

Officer (APO)

Technical Assistants,

Computer Operators, Field

Assistants

Rural Development

Department

9 A.S.W.O. Junior Assistant SC Development Dept.

10 A.S.O. ????? Planning Department


PRESENT ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY FROM DISTRICT TO MANDAL LEVEL

istr

ASO working at Mandal office

CCHHIIEEFF PPLLAANNNNIINNGG OOFFFFIICCEERR// JJOOIINNTT DDIIRREECCTTOORR

DDEEPPUUTTYY DDIIRREECCTTOORR

AASSSSIISSTTAANNTT DDIIRREECCTTOORR AASSSSIISSTTAANNTT DDIIRREECCTTOORR

SSTTAATTIISSTTIICCAALL OOFFFFIICCEERR SSTTAATTIISSTTIICCAALL OOFFFFIICCEERR

Dy.S.O. Dy.S.O.

Dy.S.O.

Dy.S.O

Dy.S.O

Dy.S.O

Dy.S.O.

DDIIVVIISSIIOONNAALL -LLEEVVEELL

Dy.S.O.

AA..SS..OO

DDIISSTTRRIICCTT LLEEVVEELL OOFFFFIICCEE SSEETT UUPP

((BBeessiiddeess MMiinniisstteerriiaall && ccoonnttrraacctt ssuuppppoorrtt--ssttaaffff))

No ground-level support


It is worth mentioning that many other smaller & progressive states like Jammu &

Kashmir, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, etc already have one or more support

staff working at the Block level Statistical Offices. For example:

In the state of Jammu & Kashmir there is a Block level Statistical cell/Planning

Cell consisting of one Statistical Officer, one Jr. Statistical Assistant and one Jr.

Assistant and the total strength of the these three posts in the state alone is 1877.

In the state of Karnataka which was the first state in India to formulate SSSP, there

is an Enumerator-cum-Data Entry Operator to assist Statistical Inspector at

Tehsil level.

In the state of Rajasthan, Block Statistical office consists of a Statistical Officer,

two Statistical Assistants and two Computors after the implementation of SSSP.

In the state of Kerala which is one of the states in India having a well-organized

statistical system there is a Taluk Statistical Office headed by TSO, which is the

lowest statistical unit in the state supported by Statistical Inspectors and

Investigators. Further in all Block Development Offices under the Rural

Development department, an extension officer (Planning & Monitoring) in the cadre

of Research Assistant is functioning under the control of BDO.

The National Statistical Commission recommended provision of Laptops to field staff

for mobile applications. There is a need for provision ICT Infrastructure to

ASOs/MPSOs like Hybrid 2-in-Laptops/Water & dust proof Tablets (e.g. Sony Xperia Z

which can work even under all weather conditions), Laser Jet Printers, 4G data cards for

faster transmission of real time data, Digital Signatures, Digital Pen that converts

handwritten analog information created using "Digital pen and paper" into digital

data, enabling the data to be utilized in various applications and transferring the data to

PC or IT devices. Necessary bare minimum Infrastructure may be provided to ASOs

like table, chair & along with regular provision of Stationery.

11. Provision of ICT Infrastructure


SSSP report in Table 19 proposed supply of medium size Laser Jet printers to ASOs at

Mandal level but instead, Dot Matrix Printers costing double the price were supplied

which have long become obsolete. It is submitted that the existing Dot Matrix Printers

which are not being used by anyone may be taken back under any buy back scheme and

medium size Laser Jet Printers as originally recommended by SSSP report may be

supplied to all ASOs working at Mandal level.

The Andhra Pradesh Economics and Statistical Subordinate Service Rules, 1991 were

amended as per G.O. Ms.No.3 dated 01.03.2012 of Planning Department, Govt. of A.P, to

bring the qualification to the post of Assistant Statistical Officer on par with

Statistical Investigator, Grade-IV, Ministry of Statistics and Programme

Implementation, Govt. of India.

However, the posts of Statistical Investigator(Gr-III) & (Gr-IV) have been merged

with Statistical Investigator(Grade-II) and re-designated as Junior Statistical Officer

and the post of Statistical Investigator (Grade-I) has been re-designated as Senior

Statistical Officer vide Govt. of India’s Gazette Notification No.263 (G.S.R. 347(E) Dated

31.5.2013.

The present cadre structure of Subordinate Statistical Services, Ministry of Statistics

& Programme Implementation, Government of India, which is also followed by many

other states, after the cadre of Assistant Director is as follows:

Senior Statistical Officer (Statistical Investigator Gr.I)

&

Junior Statistical Officer (Stat. Investigator Gr.II) (Entry level Post)

In view of the aforementioned changed circumstances, as the posts of Statistical

Investigator Grade-III and Grade IV no longer exist, there is a need for amendment of

Service Rules to bring the qualification to the post of A.S.O., under D.E.S on par with

Statistical Investigator, Grade-II which is an equivalent entry-level post under

Subordinate Statistical Services, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation,

Govt. of India.

12. Need for Amendment of Service Rules/Qualification of ASO


Para 2.17 of the SSSP recommended that ''The District level Officers, who are

participating in DRC and 20 Point Programme meetings and furnishing various types of

information on developmental programmes from the line Departments are in the cadre

of Joint Director, whereas the CPO, who is the Member-Convener of various District

Level Committees is only in the cadre of Deputy Director and has to co-ordinate with

District Officers, who are in the cadre of Joint Directors. This creates a coordination

problem. In view of the above, there is every need to create a separate post of Joint

Director at district level by continuing the post of present Deputy Director in the

districts''. The aforesaid recommendation was accepted & implemented by the then

Government.

Just as the CPOs had faced coordination problems due to aforementioned reasons, an

Asst. Statistical Officer working at the Mandal Level also faces similar and even

more severe problems coordinating with various Mandal level Officials and lack

of cooperation from Officials of other Departments during the discharge of duties

as they are much higher in cadre to an ASO.

Even the immediate supervising officer at Divisional level i.e. Dy.S.O. is also

helpless in this regard as the said post is not even a Gazetted one. As per

Go. Ms. no. 829 dated 21/08/2013 of Govt. of A.P, an ASO is the convener of Mandal

Level Area Reconciliation Committee which includes Mandal level Gazetted Officers like

Tahsildar, Mandal Agricultural Officer, Mandal Horticultural Officer, Asst. Engineer, etc.

who are much higher in cadre to an ASO. Further, during the conduct of various

Censuses and Surveys, an ASO has to supervise the work of Officials who are higher in

cadre . An ASO has to supervise the work of Agricultural Extension Officer Grade I who

is much higher in Cadre to an ASO, for Crop Cutting Experiments under Crop Insurance

scheme. Even the 10th Pay Revision Commission acknowledged the fact and increased

two scales to the post of ASO but unfortunately, still kept the scale below AEO Gr.1. It is

worth mentioning that the pay scales of many posts which were once equivalent to

ASOs have been hiked while the scale of ASO remained stagnated leading to a great deal

of dissatisfaction. A Comparison of scales of other posts with ASO, over the years is

shown in (Annexure I).

13. Upgrading and Restructuring of Posts


Thus, there is a need to Strengthen & Restructure the Statistical Cadre of our state

following the Central Govt. model with the appropriate modifications and remove

multiple levels of hierarchy between District and Mandal levels which goes against the

sound Management principle of Unity of Command and Direction. Thus, after the cadre

of Assistant Director, there would be only 2 cadres, i.e., equivalent to Senior Statistical

Officer (formerly known as Statistical Investigator Gr.I) and Junior Statistical Officer

(formerly known as Statistical Investigator Gr.II) in the Central Govt. pattern followed

by many other states. In view of the above, the following restructuring is required

a. The posts of Deputy Statistical Officers (Dy.S.O.) may be upgraded and merged

with the level of present Statistical Officer, i.e. also equivalent to Senior Statistical

Officer in the Central Govt. structure.

b. The posts of Asst. Statistical Officer (renamed as Mandal Planning & Statistical

Officer) may be upgraded to the level of existing Dy.S.O., i.e., also equivalent to

Junior Statistical Officer in the Central Govt. Structure.

The additional financial burden, if any, of upgrading the posts on the Government will be

very minimal as most of the existing ASOs have already reached the scale attached to the

post of Dy.S.O., and almost all the existing Dy.S.O.s have crossed the scale attached to the

post of Statistical Officer.

Further, to reduce the financial burden of creation of the posts of Statistical Officers

(S.O.s) at Assembly Constituencies, the Government may consider re-posting all the

existing 43 Dy.S.Os, (after upgrading as S.O.s in the proposed structure) from Revenue

Divisions to newly proposed Planning Divisions (As Constituency Planning & Statistical

Officers at MLAs Camp Offices). Thus, there would be a Supervisory Officer at the

Constituency level in the proposed structure instead of existing Revenue Divisions, in

view of Constituency centric Planning & developmental activities. It is pertinent to note

that even the Agriculture Department of our state has recently restructured its

departmental divisions taking Assembly Constituency as a unit. Supervision of work at

Constituency level would also be much better when compared to that of Revenue

Division level.


PROPOSED ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Win-Win situation

The SSSP report in Para 2.33 stated that “…For the purpose of estimation of GSDP,

the DES needs statistical data from various line departments. Posts have been created in

certain line departments to look after the statistical needs of these departments as well as

furnishing various data sets needed for DES for compilation of GSDP. However, these

posts are inadequate to carry out the functions. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen

the statistical cells in the Line Departments with DES cadre. SSSP report in Para 2.70

also observed that “timeliness and quality of data is not being maintained due to

non-existence of statistical cells in the respective departments.”

CHIEF PLANNING OFFICER/ JOINT DIRECTOR

Deputy Director (Agriculture)

Asstistant Director Asst. Director (Planning))

Statistical Officers in CPO Office

(Including present upgraded Dy.S.Os)

Statistical Officer (Assembly Constituency) Planning Divisions

MMaannddaall lleevveell AA..SS..OO// MMPPSSOO

Supported by 2 Para-Statistical workers, i.e. Field Investigator/Enumerator-cum- Date entry Operator

14. Creation of Statistical Cells in line Departments & Urban Local Bodies


As recommended by the SSSP report, all the line departments may be sanctioned with

additional posts of DES Cadre to put in place proper Statistical systems. An Annual

Statistical Action Plan (ASAP) for the State may be prepared in consultation with the line

Departments along with identification of data gaps under different sectors and

suggestions for improvement by DES. It could ensure accurate reporting of contribution

from all the Sectors of economy and help in calculation of Gross State Domestic Product

in a more efficient manner and also meeting the FRBM Act limits as the State Economy

might show higher growth rates because of better reporting of data which is hitherto

under-reported & unreported, which in turn might show a larger size of State Economy.

The state of Rajasthan serves as a model which has implemented the recommendations

of SSSP to create 500 additional posts of DES Cadre in various line departments.

Further, a Statistical Cell may be established in the Department of Municipal

Administration for collection, compilation and dissemination of grass root level urban

statistics along with creation of the post of ASO at each of the Nagar Panchayats,

Municpalities and Municipal Corporations which may be designated as Municipal

Planning & Statistical Officer.

National Statistical Commission report in Chapter 2 has rightly observed that

“Village officials who play a key role in collecting land use statistics do not attach much

importance to this work. Higher-level revenue officials too do not pay adequate

attention to this activity at the time of supervision. All these factors have contributed to

the deterioration in the quality of crop statistics....... Thus the pillars on which the entire

edifice of Agricultural Statistics rests have been weakened”

SSSP report identified many deficiencies in Agricultural Statistical System and in

Para 3.6.16 made certain suggestions to improve the quality and coverage of

agricultural statistics. It suggested that ''Revenue Administration should take full

responsibility for Area Statistics'' and also to explore the idea of using

Remote Sensing as an alternative for area statistics as an option and also to

''introduce a major statistical change in the agricultural statistical system''.

15. Reforms in Crop Area & Yield Statistics


The Government may consider following the Tamil Nadu model where the TN

Agricultural University has tied up under the ‘Remote Sensing Information for

Insurance on Crops in Emerging Economies’ (RIICE) project with the Swedish

Developmental Council, International Rice Research Institute and Sarmap of

Switzerland. The University uses the images to identify crops, estimate area of

cultivation, prepare seasonality map (track the start, end and progress of agriculture

seasons), phenology map (various stages of crop) and yield map (estimate the yield).

The images, and the data deciphered there from will help the State Government frame

policies and farmers get precise inputs and also quick disbursement of crop

insurance.

Reducing Farmers’ Vulnerability through RIICE project:

The yield observation data as well as the yield forecasts can be used to identify those

areas that are most likely to be affected by damaged crops. It also forms the basis for

insurance companies to be able to monitor crop losses in a transparent and reliable

manner, providing the basis to make crop insurance for rice smallholders viable.

See more at: http://www.riice.org/what-riice-does/reducing-farmers-vulnerability/#sthash.FnESJdSF.dpuf

Earth Observation & Data Collection:

How can remote sensing observe crop growth over time? - See more at: http://www.riice.org/what-riice-does/earth-observation-data-collection/#sthash.hjbGGeoX.dpuf

http://www.riice.org/what-riice-does/reducing-farmers-vulnerability/#sthash.FnESJdSF.dpuf

http://www.riice.org/what-riice-does/reducing-farmers-vulnerability/#sthash.FnESJdSF.dpuf

http://www.riice.org/what-riice-does/earth-observation-data-collection/#sthash.hjbGGeoX.dpuf


How precise can remote sensing map rice areas?

Though the Chief Commissioner of Land Revenue (CCLR) issued a Circular Ref. No.

TT4/2875/97, Dt.29.8.1997 instructing that the work relating to Maintenance of Rain

gauge Station and recording Rainfall be entrusted to Head Quarters Dy.Tahsildar of the

Mandal instead of Asst. Statistical Officers, almost all the Deputy Tahsildars refuse to

acknowledge that recording of rainfall from the Revenue Rain gauge stations is their

duty.

Para 3.6.16 of SSSP Report also recommended that ''recording of rainfall and

maintenance of Rain gauge stations be entrusted to Revenue Department.'' It also

recommended that the data collected from the Automatic Weather Stations be made

available to Revenue Department (Tahsildars/RDOs).

16. Reforms in Measurement of Rainfall


In view of proposed additional activities related to Planning, Data analysis and

Evaluation, training may be imparted to the field level staff. Until our own State

Statistical Training Institute is fully functional, the services of institutions like MCRHRD,

Hyderabad &, National Statistical Systems Training Academy (NSSTA), which is a

premier Institute fostering human resource development in Official Statistics and which

conducts training for both new recruits and in-service Officers for different target

groups viz. Indian Statistical Service, Subordinate Statistical Service, State Governments

Statistical Personnel can be utilized as it conducts need based/request based training.

The training modules could include the following, among others:

An overview of the National and State Statistical Systems.

Basic economic, social sector and local area planning statistics.

Planning, budgeting, and organizational principles.

Monitoring & Evaluation methods for different schemes and programmes.

Report writing, Data Analysis & Interpretation, Data Dissemination.

Use of standard computer packages and data presentation.

Geographical Information systems.

The following steps may be taken for effective implementation of “The Collection of Statistics Act” 2008 a) Issuance of a comprehensive circular to all departments of Government about the

Act

b) Conducting a workshop for the Secretaries, Heads of the departments and

academicians to apprise them of the provisions of the Act and the role of the

departments.

c) Conducting a training programme on the provisions of the Act to all statistical

Personnel.

d) Imposition of penal provisions for non-compliance under the Act.

e) Exploring the idea of Statistical Audit.

17. Training, Reorientation & Capacity building Programmes

18. Effective implementation of "The Collection of Statistics Act"


Finally, we thank all those who have encouraged & supported us in preparing

this document, and hope that the suggestions & ideas presented by us in this

document will be considered positively, and the humble attempt made by us will

lead to an all round positive change for which we are waiting for since many

years.

Regards

Telangana Asst. Statistical Officers' (ASOs) Forum

Email for feedback: rameez [email protected] or [email protected]

mailto:rameez%[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


(Annexure IA)

A Comparison of Pay Scales of the Post of Assistant Statistical Officer (under Directorate of Economics & Statistics)

with other similar Posts in Various Pay Fixations

Sl. No

Name of the Post 1974 1978 1986 1993 1999 2005 2010

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

1 Special Category Steno

320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

2

Executive Officer Gram Panchayat Grade-I

320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

3 Sub Inspector of Police

320-580

575-950

1280-2440

2525-5390

4850-10250

7200-16925

14860-39540

4 B.Ed Assistant

320-580

575-950

1280-2440

2525-5390

4850-10250

7200-16925

14860-39540

5 Accountant 320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

6 Store keeper Grade I

320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

7 Translators Grade I (I & PR Deptt.)

320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

8 Translator

320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

9 Accountant (Stores Pur.)

320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

10 Assistant Librarian Gr.I

320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

11 Store Keeper 320-580

600-1050

1330-2630

2525-5390

4850-10250

7770-18575

14860-39540

18 Asst. Motor Vehicle Inspector

320-580

550-900

1330-2630

2600-5580

5000-10600

8815-20300

15280-40510

19 Assistant Statistical Officer

320-580

530-850

1100-2050

2195-4560

4430-9300

6505-15025

11530-33200(hiked to 12550 in 10th PRC)

P.T.O for Annexure IB


Annexure IB

A Comparative Statement of Pay Scales of different Categories of Executive posts recruited directly by Public Service Commission

S. No.

EXECUTIVE POSTS NOTIFIED

PAY SCALE (As per 2005 Pay Scales)

PAY SCALE (As per 2010 Revised Pay

Scales)

1

Deputy Tahsildar Rs. 7770-18575/-

Rs.14860-39540/-

2

Municipal Commissioner

Grade III

Rs.8385-19125

Rs.15280- 40510/-

3

Assistant Commercial

Tax Officer

Rs.7770-18575

Rs. 14860/- to 39540/-

4

Extension Officer in

Panchayati Raj and Rural Development

Rs.7770-18575

Rs. 14860/- to 39540/-

5 Sub Registrar of Assurances and

Marriages

Rs.7770-18575

Rs. 14860/- to 39540/-

6 Assistant Labour Officer

Rs.7770-18575

Rs. 14860/- to 39540/-

7 Assistant Registrar (Formerly called Cooperative Sub

Registrar)

Rs.7770-18575

Rs. 14860/- to 39540/-

8 Executive Officer Grade II in Endowments

Department

Rs.7770-18575

Rs. 14860/- to 39540/-

9 Junior Employment Officer

Rs.7770-18575

Rs. 14860/- to 39540/-

10

Assistant Statistical

Officer

Rs. 6505-15025

Rs. 11530-33200

(hiked to 12550 in 10th PRC)

P.T.O for Annexure 1C


Annexure 1C

Extract from the Report of 10th Pay Revision Commission, Volume II

Part 2, Page No. 619 discussing about the scale of Assistant

Statistical Officer working under Directorate of Economics &

Statistics, Planning Department.

The 10th PRC hiked the scale of post attached to ASO by two grades but still kept it below the

scale attached to many other Mandal level posts.

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