New Delhi: In 2018, Government has received 15.77 lakh public grievances on the Centralised Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System. Of these 14.98 lakh public grievances have been duly disposed and the citizens informed by the Departments and Ministries of Government of India. The percentage of disposal in 2018 was 95 percent.
The highest disposal of public grievances was achieved in the Departments of Financial Services, Health and Family Welfare, Posts, Telecommunications, Railways and Home Affairs. Not only were disposal percentages in Departments/Ministries in excess of 90 percent but the disposal time was less than the prescribed 60 days and effective communication was being sent to the Citizen in this regard.
The monitoring of grievances is being undertaken in Government in 21 major categories under 3 major heads: Grievance arising out of abuse of office/corruption on the part of public functionaries; Grievances arising out of systemic deficiencies within an organization and Grievances arising from non-fulfilment of needs/demands.
Departments have undertaken several corrective measures for simplifying processes for reducing public grievances. Some of the notable reforms introduced are automatic refunds on cancellation of Railway Tickets, Single Window Pension through disbursing Banks, intensive mechanized cleaning of coaches, e-verification of Income Tax Returns, expeditious Income Tax Returns upto Rs.50,000/- and simplification in passport verification processes. An important step in this direction is the timely updation of Citizens Charters which represent effective tools for holding public servants accountable and improving service delivery.
Government launched an Award Scheme as an incentive for recognising outstanding performance in redress of public grievances on quarterly basis through issue of Certificate of Appreciation. In 2018, Government awarded 9 Departments for timely disposal of public grievances.
The objective is improved citizen centric governance through effective and speedy redress of public grievances.
