In a gesture that quietly speaks volumes, Ujjain district Collector Roshan Kumar Singh is drawing praise for a simple but significant move- placing a chair in front of his desk during public hearing so that complainants can sit and speak comfortably.
Singh, a 2015 batch IAS officer, assumed charge as Ujjain’s Collector on April 15. At his very first Jan Sunwai (public hearing) in the district, held on a Tuesday as mandated across Madhya Pradesh, Singh instructed his staff to place a chair for complainants. Traditionally, complainants stand while presenting their grievances, while the Collector and revenue officials remain seated—a practice often criticised for its symbolic imbalance.
While talking to The Pioneer, Singh downplayed the gesture. “People come with problems—some of them serious and deeply personal. The least we can do is offer them a seat and a sense of dignity,” says Ujjain Collector Roshan Kumar Singh, explaining the thought behind his simple yet impactful change during public hearings.
While public hearings are a regular feature in all district Collectorates of Madhya Pradesh, Singh’s approach has reignited the debate about why such a small act of empathy has remained so rare.
This is not the first time Singh has introduced people-centric innovations. During his tenure as Vidisha Collector, he took a proactive approach to resolving complaints under the CM Helpline. Going beyond the standard protocol, he personally reached out to complainants through random calls to verify if their issues were genuinely resolved and to assess their satisfaction levels.
Prior to his posting in Ujjain, Roshan Kumar Singh served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Morena District Panchayat and was later appointed Commissioner of the Ujjain Municipal Corporation in 2022. He subsequently served in the Public Relations Department in Bhopal before taking charge as Collector of Vidisha.
Now in Ujjain, Singh continues to uphold a governance style that prioritizes accessibility, humility, and a genuine connection with the public—a refreshing approach in a system often seen as hierarchical and distant.