| Solve your grievances within 15 days via JKIGRMS: LG Manoj Sinha |
Oftentimes, the lackadaisical behavior prevalent in a few government departments lead to the unwanted delay to avail various services by the populace. An efficient grievance mechanism can speed up the entire process by providing each citizen with the power to raise concerns or complaints in a prompt and professional manner.
Recently, according to the data shared by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply mentioned that a total of 15,86,415 such grievances were received in 2018 as against 18,66,124 in 2017. And of which, 14,98,519 and 17,73,020 grievances were redressed in 2018 and 2017, respectively.
Also, in the year 2019, a total of 18,67,758 public grievances were received out of which, 16,39,120 were redressed which shows that the average disposal rate of grievances has improved nationally.
In a similar move to bring all Jammu and Kashmir departments under the accountability compass, a cohesive grievance system was launched by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on pilot basis for three districts of Jammu, Srinagar, and Reasi. It will gradually be rolled out in the remaining districts by or before 2nd October 2020.
In addition to this, the new system is available 24*7 with applicant OTP authentication, acknowledgement to applicant at each stage, feedback by complainant and on top of that grievance submission through call center by making a phone call between 9.30 AM -5.30 PM on all days except Sunday.
The maiden J&K Integrated Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (JKIGRMS) is linked to Government of India’s grievance website and J&K became first UT in India to take this step. The registration of grievances is allowed through internet 24×7 with a provision to submit grievance in English at http://jkgrievance.in. Grievances pertaining to the districts can also be registered by calling on the Toll-free District Call Centres (18005722327 for Jammu Division and 18005722328 for Kashmir Division). A time frame of 15 days has been set up to dispose of complaints with regular updates in the status which can be tracked by complainant.
During the launch, the Lieutenant Governor said that IGRMS shall decentralize the handling and redressal of public grievances by making district collectors/deputy commissioners the primary level of receiving, disposing, and monitoring grievances.
He also ensured that there will be consistent status update of the grievances on the portal. And, if laxity if found while addressing the people’s grievances., strict actions will be taken against concerned officers.
As per this new initiative, all district Superintendents of Police and Deputy Commissioners have been asked to remain present for people in their offices from 10:30 am to 11:30 am five days a week.
The existing facility will be available for all the districts of J&K UT by October 2. Earlier, only 260 public offices were under this system but through this new portal, the system has now been integrated downwards to the district level by mapping another nearly 1500 public offices in 20 districts of the Union Territory (UT).
Secretary, Public Grievances, Simrandeep Singh emphasized that the new system would involve setting up dedicated Grievance handling teams in each of the 20 districts of J&K to handle seamless flow of grievances up and down the chain. And the focus would be on the successful and speedy disposal of all grievances.
Overall, it is a great move towards gaining the trust of the public as an effective grievance redressal mechanism is the lifeblood of any good governance system. To make system more transparent, it is clearly mentioned on the website that grievances cannot be deleted/tampered by anyone including the admin. There will be fortnightly submission of reports from all departments/officers to Lieutenant Governor. Complainants would be provided with Unique Tracking Number and facility to submit clarification related to their grievances.
