At 6.09 lakh, grievances lodged by citizens against centre increase threefold

NEW DELHI: The grievances of citizens regarding central government ministries and departments have seen a threefold increase over the past year, a jump that the government said reflects the faith of the people in its ability to address their complaints. Nearly 6.09 lakh grievances regarding the Centre have been lodged on the Central Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal since the beginning of the year, compared to 2.2 lakh complaints in 2014 and 1.6 lakh in 2013.

“Obviously, this only shows that our government is more accessible to the public,” minister of state in Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh told ET. “Our citizen centricity is much more – one can simply log on to the CPGRAMS portal to lodge a complaint or do so even on the go with a CPGRAMS mobile application launched by us lately,” he said. Five central ministries or departments account for about half of the total complaints, with the Department of Telecommunications alone reporting nearly 1.6 lakh grievances, followed by railways, Department of Financial Services, home ministry and the CBDT.

Nearly 20 central government departments account for three-fourths of all complaints. The minister said people now feel that if they lodge a grievance, it will be heard and resolved. “This is clear from the fact that we have resolved nearly 81% of grievances this year and are aiming for record cent-per-cent disposal,” he said. Almost 4.87 lakh grievances out of the 6.09 lakh received this year stand resolved. The disposal rate in 2014 and 2013 was higher, at nearly 90%.

Former Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra said there is some truth in the government’s claims that people now feel their complaints will be heard. “The disposal rate is appreciable,” he said. Chandra, however, said the figures “should also be quite disturbing” for the government as they show that at the cutting-edge level of bureaucracy, people are still not getting the service they deserve.