When Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao announced a new telephone number for the people to lodge complaint against any Government employee and the official demanding bribe, he had a little idea that this will open a floodgates of complaints not against corruption but basically the failure of the Government in delivering the benefits of various welfare schemes.
KCR, as the Chief Minister, announced the number 040-23454071 for the people to lodge complaint against corrupt public servants. But in the first four days after the number was announced, Government received not only 499 complaints of corruption but also a whopping 10,000-odd complaints were their inability to avail various sops including ration cards, housing, pension and other welfare scheme benefits.
The director general of police, Anti-Corruption Bureau Abdul Khayyum Khan visited the cell and personally assessed the complaints of the people. “If the complaints of graft are backed by the evidence, we will register cases and take the cases to prosecution level,” Khan said. He said that the ACB network in districts would also be strengthened to effectively deal with the cases of corruption.
A core team of officials will be formed to suggest measures to deal with the public servants against whom the complaints were received, Khan said. The complaints of grafts were received from all over Telangana and pertained to the departments like pension, civil supplies and housing. The helpline will send weekly reports to the heads of the departments regarding the complaints against their respective personnel recovered on the helpline and wherever necessary a departmental action will be launched, an official said.
While the graft complaints will be dealt by the ACB, the other department heads were asked to deal with the complaints regarding their respective subjects. “Apart from getting a feedback, the complaints on the helpline will also enable us in understanding the functioning of various departments,” a senior official associated with the helpline initative said. “The Chief Minister was personally taking keen interest in this matter”.
Apart from the new line against corruption case, the Telangana Government has come out with several other numbers for various other departments and subjects. For example those requiring help under Arogyasri or medical insurance scheme for poor can contact 104 and get all the necessary information and guidance. For AIDS affected people, the Government has opened a line. The needy people can contact number 1997.