Maharashtra government mulls launching web portal to address public grievances

MUMBAI: After the commencement of online RTI services in the state, the Maharashtra government is planning to launch a web portal "Aaple Sarkar" by January 26 to address public grievances while ensuring participative governance.

"We want participative governance in Maharashtra where people can give suggestions to our policies or upload their grievances on their website," Principal Secretary of the State IT department, Rajesh Aggarwal said.

"The suggestions or grievances will not be limited to the Chief Minister. Ministers of every department can be reached through this portal," he said.

The IAS officer said that the aim of the government behind launching this website is that people need not travel from far-flung places to reach the Secretariat and meet ministers or Secretaries of concerned departments.

"For now people can lodge their grievances regarding matters concerning Mantralaya (State Secretariat). Soon we will also be adding district collectors and lower levels wherein people can interact with them sitting in the comfort of their houses. It all depends on the initial success," Aggarwal said.

When asked to comment on the web address, he said, "We are toying with 2-3 names for now, but it has not been finalised as yet."

Aggarwal said that keeping a dedicated portal for citizen suggestion will also enable the government to keep a tab on various departments and the action taken by the concerned department over people's suggestions.

"As a citizen if you are filing suggestions, one will be able to keep a count of the number of suggestions a particular department received and the response of the concerned department. This will streamline the entire process," Aggarwal said.