Ahead of the panchayat election due next year, the West Bengal government has launched eight public service portals for the benefit of the people residing in rural areas.

Minister of State, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Becharam Manna, while launching the portals on Thursday, said the government aims to bring transparency and speed to the services of the department.

The department revamped its website, launched a 24/7 Panchayat Public Grievance Redressal System, portals for online building plan approval and online booking of guest houses in rural areas to boost tourism.

It also launched a single-window portal for getting reports about the progress of various rural projects, online PRI (Panchayati Raj Institutions) services, e-PRI services and a portal to monitor status of court cases pending with the department.