Addressing public grievances fast holds the key
It is absolutely essential for a Government that has been announcing a slew of ambitious programmes to change the rural and urban profile of the country, and that too within a tight schedule (since a great deal of time has already been squandered), to ensure that the schemes are implemented effectively. Simultaneously, it is necessary for public grievance redressal mechanisms to deliver, because no amount of high-profile projects can satisfy a people struggling to get their problems addressed at various levels of the administration. Therefore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directive to bureaucrats to resolve public grievances within a 60-day deadline period must be welcomed. It is to be hoped that the Secretaries of the Union Government and the Chief Secretaries of States, whom the Prime Minister addressed on Wednesday, have got the message. The success of PRAGATI — the Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation model — depends entirely on the performance of the administration at the Central and State levels, because bureaucrats have the responsibility of resolving public grievances. This may appear to be an inherent aspect of its functioning, but the implementation is often easier said than done. One reason is the infamous bureaucratic sloth. But there is also another reason: Slackness over the decades in developing and using technology to address people's problems. A good example of this is to be found in the area of land records. Across the country, land disputes that have reached official authorities occupy a significant portion of public grievances — in many States they are the dominant factor. And yet, land records in several States have either not been digitised or that the computerised system does not effectively function (or made to not function by vested interests within the administration). It is not a surprise that States where such digitisation has worked, have recorded faster and transparent redressals, aborting the possibility of matters reaching courts and further clogging the judicial process with civil issues that take decades to resolve. The proposed integration of land records with Aadhar is a good idea. The other area that the bureaucrats need to focus their attention on is the social sector. Various social sector schemes such as targeted subsidies have been linked to the JAM (Jan Dhan account; Aadhar; mobile phone service) platform and more are to be added. It is, thus, necessary for the administration across the country to be prepared for tackling grievances (within the 60-day period) that can arise out of late or faulty or even in some cases non-implementation, of the schemes.
Back in January, the Cabinet Secretariat had asked senior bureaucrats to personally resolve 10 to 30 grievances every week, and set an example. Perhaps that has not happened to the fullest extent, which is why Prime Minister Modi had to deliver the latest reminder. The Prime Minister's emphasis comes in the backdrop of a feeling within the NDA that the benefits of the Government's many people-friendly programmes are either not reaching the last man in the line or not being effectively publicised. The second becomes easier to resolve if the first is settled through public grievance redressal mechanisms.