Amid growing concerns over delays in addressing complaints lodged by citizens, Chief Secretary of the State V. Sriniva issued an order, directing that officers from the rank of Secretary to Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) will be stationed at the 181 call centre located at the Secretariat. According to the order, each officer will personally interact with citizens and handle at least 10 calls daily.

A government official said that the objective of the move was to get a first-hand perspective of public grievances and ensure timely resolution. The decision was taken after Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma closely monitored the facility. A special campaign on this has been scheduled from March 4 to April 28.

Administrative Accountability

Several senior officers, including Additional Chief Secretaries Abhay Kumar, Aparna Arora, Shikhar Agarwal, Sandeep Verma, Kuldeep Ranka, and Sreya Guha, are part of the initiative. 

The Chief Secretary's directive has stipulated that every deputed officer must identify at least 10 long-pending but easily resolvable complaints from the Sampark portal, and ensure their effective redressal.

Unresolved Issues

Common grievances related to certificates, electricity supply, water issues, and sanitation have often remained unresolved for extended periods, leading to public dissatisfaction.

Officers are required to submit detailed reports after each visit, mentioning the number of complaints resolved and recommendations to improve the grievance redressal mechanism. The initiative is intended to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in addressing citizens' concerns from across the State.