Patna, Oct. 25: The state plans to make accounts of panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) available online to ensure transparency in use of funds by these bodies. To begin with, the system would be introduced at the district and the block-levels.

At first, panchayat samitis, which function at the block-level, and zilla parishads, which function at the district-level, would be brought under the ambit of the new system.

“The system is being introduced as part of the e-panchayat scheme that entails making accounts-related information of PRIs as well as other important information related to panchayats available online,” panchayati raj department principal secretary Manoj Kumar Srivastava told The Telegraph.

Preparations for the move have already been started and over 118 personnel from the districts have been given training to handle a special software — Priya Soft — which would be used under the e-panchayat scheme.

These trained personnel, in turn, would be used as master trainers who would impart training to block-level personnel to be deputed to implement the scheme.

“Each of the 531 panchayat samitis would be given the services of one dedicated person for uploading of online data and services of computer-trained persons for this purpose would be taken through Beltron,” said the principal secretary.

As far as equipping the blocks with necessary hardware is concerned, the department would provide Rs 1.75 lakh to each samiti and out of this, Rs 50,000 has already been disbursed and disbursement of the remaining fund is under process.

“The new online system is likely to be ready within six months. Once it becomes functional, it would allow easy access to up-to-date information about funds received by different PRIs and also expenditure details,” Srivastava said, adding that the information would also be accessible to the public.

The panchayats, which are at the bottom of the three-tier system of PRIs, however, would not have this facility to begin with, as many of the panchayats do not have the infrastructure in place to have such facilities at present.

To overcome this handicap, the department has devised a way and panchayat secretaries would be used to provide data at the block-level periodically from where these would be uploaded on the website that would contain the accounts related data to PRIs.