Moving ahead with its commitment to provide clean and responsive administration to the people, the state government is giving top priority to redress the public grievances at the earliest through on-line public grievances redressal (e-Samadhan) facility. This has not only helped in mitigating the genuine problems and complaints of the people but it is also ensuring responsive and sensitive governance in the state.
The state, district and sub-divisional level public grievances redressal committees have been constituted in the state to facilitate the people in putting forward their grievances. It is also being ensured that meetings of these committees are held at regular interval of time so as to ensure quick and effective disposal of received complaints and demands.
The meeting of the state level grievances redressal committee is held under the chairman of Chief Minister himself to review and monitor the progress in various cases related to different departments. At district level, the meetings are presided over by the minister’s or minister in-charge of the concerned district from time to time. Besides district and sub-divisional level meetings, the public grievances are also being redressed by organizing one-day camps in the hard and far-flung areas under ‘prashasan janta ke dwar’ programme. The grievances relating to issuance of various types of certificates, electricity, water, pension payment, land and revenue matters are being redressed through these camps especially to help the poor and needy persons.
It was during year 2004; the Congress government in the state had constituted an independent public grievances redressal department. The e-redressal system has enabled the person living in remotest areas of the state to register their complaints from their homes and can also access the progress being made to redress his complaints at the government end.
The government is also providing people the facility to register their complaints through Lok Mitra Kendras, set up in large numbers in every part of the state. In its keen sensitivity for redressal of pubic grievances, the state government moved further ahead by providing facility of e-mail services ([email protected]) and telephone number 0177-2880490 for registering the complaints since January, 2014.
By the end of February, 2015 the Department of Redressal of Public Grievances received 44,198 grievances out of which 39,730 were disposed off while 21,501 demands were received out of which 17,489 were disposed off and rest grievances and demands have been sent to the concerned departments for necessary and time bound action.
The initiative of the state government for redressing the complaints filed by the women on priority has brought fruitful results and during year 2014 out of total 129 complaints registered by the women, 84 cases were disposed off quickly by taking up these cases directly with the Women Commission, concerned departments, concerned deputy commissioners and superintendents of police. 26 cases were sent for legal process whereas in remaining 19 cases action was taken successfully at high level. The department is also ensuring the timely disposal of the public grievances received from the office of the President of India, Prime Minister and department of Redressal of Public Grievances of the government of India.
The state government is mulling to appoint Chief Information Commissioner for redressing the public grievances on the analogy of Lakayukta which will go a long way in making grievances redressal system more effective and strengthened in the state. This step will also ensure action against those found guilty of casual approach while dealing with the public grievances.
In order to ensure the disposal of grievances at department level, the state government has set up a time frame to provide services under Public Services Guarantee Act in all departments and this has helped in redressing most of the public grievances at lower level itself.
