VIJAYAWADA: In a push for transparent and effective implementation of welfare schemes, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has decided to employ IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) to collect public feedback.
He asserted that the feedback on the implementation of government welfare schemes, initiatives, and citizen services is the final report, and urged people to voice their true responses.
The focus of the feedback mechanism is to improve the quality of the services extended to people from the State government and to assess the effectiveness of the schemes under implementation. Based on the feedback, necessary changes will be made to the respective schemes, the press release on Sunday read.
He said through the IVRS mechanism, people can become effective partners in the governance and administration of the State. He said the effectiveness of the public feedback mechanism was evident during elections, when his TDP selected the candidates based on public feedback, and during the Vijayawada floods, when the relief measures were corrected on the run.
The entire feedback mechanism is computer-based, eliminating the chances of human error and manipulation of the ratings given by the public. Furthermore, the system also works in taking the schemes to the people. The State government, for example, could take feedback on social welfare pensions and the free gas cylinders scheme, where the beneficiary will be asked whether they received the pensions at their doorstep or faced any problems in getting the free gas refill.
Apart from using the IVRS for welfare schemes, it could also be employed to obtain public opinion on State government policies aimed at their benefit, such as the free sand policy and the new liquor policy, enabling the current dispensation to assess the implementation at the grassroots and also utilizing it as a redressal mechanism.
The feedback on citizen services pertaining to revenue, municipal, energy, and other key departments will be brought under the IVRS purview.
He believes that the feedback could pave the way for the government to improve a particular service or scheme after analyzing the public response, and take steps to address the situation, winning people’s approval.
“The Public Feedback Mechanism would also make the officials and employees more diligent, careful, and accountable. However, for such a system to function effectively, it is imperative for the people to respond to the IVRS calls patiently and provide valuable inputs. The time spent on the IVRS call by the people can make a substantial difference and ensure better services,” the CM opined.