BHUBANESWAR: The state government’s experiment with structured grievance redressal is yielding tangible results, with 94 per cent of complaints disposed of so far, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said on Monday after the 17th public grievance hearing in the state capital.
In his media interaction, the chief minister said the public grievance hearing programme is one of the most important initiatives of his government and special emphasis has been laid on grievance redressal under the government’s 15-point directive aimed at making the administration more citizen-friendly in the new year.
“From the secretariat to blocks and tehsils, officials have been instructed to proactively visit the field, hear people’s grievances and resolve them promptly,” he said, adding regular state-level grievance hearings have strengthened district-level mechanisms as well.
He said district collectors and superintendents of police are now holding grievance hearings on a regular basis, making the system a routine administrative process across the state.
Official data show that of the 14,054 grievances registered till the 16th round, 13,169 have been resolved, while the remaining cases are currently under process.
As part of his established practice, Majhi first interacted with persons with disabilities and patients suffering from serious ailments outside the grievance cell. He sanctioned `1 lakh for the medical treatment of Braj Kishore Bandha of Bhadrak district and `1.5 lakh for Kartik Si of Jajpur district, both battling critical illnesses.
Majhi also directed the Health department to provide medical and travel assistance to Tilottama Pandey from Patnagarh, who is suffering from kidney and neurological disorders. He instructed officials to ensure prompt follow-up on all medical-related petitions.
Inside the grievance cell, the chief minister personally heard complaints registered by citizens from different districts and directed officials to take swift and compassionate action, particularly in cases involving health, disability and social welfare.
Works minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, Housing and Urban Development minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra, Health and Family Welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling, School and Mass Education minister Nityananda Gond, and Panchayati Raj and Rural Development minister Rabi Narayan Naik assisted the chief minister in grievance redressal process.