Fifteen Bihar Government employees were suspended on Tuesday for alleged dereliction of duty during a State-level public grievance redressal camp. Those facing action include circle officers, BLOs, engineers and other Government employees from various departments and districts, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary ordered the initiation of departmental proceedings against them for “failing to address applicants’ grievances in a timely and effective manner,” the statement said. The action was taken against 15 officials from the Revenue and Land Reforms, Rural Development, Urban Development and Housing, and Public Health Engineering departments.
The CM directed all Government officials to ensure accountability and timely redressal of public grievances, the CMO statement said. He asked them to treat citizens with respect and resolve their problems promptly.
“The Government’s objective is to ensure transparent, impartial and time-bound redressal of grievances of every citizen. All Government officials in the state have been directed to treat citizens with respect and ensure the prompt resolution of their problems,” the statement said.
The CM directed district magistrates and departments concerned to resolve complaints within the stipulated time frame. He also asked senior officials and DMs to verify whether the decisions taken on applicants’ grievances had actually addressed their concerns.
Emphasising that merely disposing of applications on the Sahyog portal was not enough, the CM directed DMs, departmental secretaries, and officials of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat to regularly review the quality of grievance redressal.
Mass suspension of ‘irresponsible’ Bihar Government employees
Choudhary warned that strict disciplinary action would be taken against those found “resorting to delaying tactics or disposing of applications without actually resolving the problems”. “The responsibility of the Government and its officials is to resolve people’s problems with sensitivity and promptness and ensure that they get justice,” he said, urging officials to understand the spirit of the Sahyog programme and discharge their responsibilities effectively.
Altogether 76 applicants attended Tuesday’s programme, where they raised grievances related to various departments, including Public Health Engineering, Revenue and Land Reforms, Education, Home, Health, Social Welfare, Rural Works, Urban Development, Energy and Road Construction. The Sahyog camps have already helped resolve the problems of a large number of people.
The state-level programme has been launched to facilitate fair justice. The CM presides over the State-level Sahyog programme at the Cabinet Secretariat in Patna, the statement added.