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An organisation’s grievance redressal system serves as a tool for measuring efficiency and effectiveness, since it gives critical input on its operations. The process is a systematic complaint procedure utilised by people to raise issues and the impact of inept governance in the organisation.
“Grievance Redressal Mechanism” is one of the most fundamental and vital things to understand when preparing for national-level entrance tests.
Grievance Redressal Mechanism and Structure is a fascinating subject for sociology students. The “Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances” is a crucial component of this chapter.
Grievance Redressal Mechanism Meaning
A grievance redressal mechanism is an integral aspect of any administration’s machinery. An efficient and effective grievance redressal procedure projects an accountable, responsive, and user-friendly administration. In reality, an organisation’s grievance redressal procedure is a key performance indicator for its efficiency and effectiveness, as it gives critical input on the administration’s operations.
For example, the Administration of Financial Services’ top goals include timely public grievance resolution and strengthening public service efficiency in the banking, insurance, and pension sectors.
Public complaints are received at many levels of the Indian government. There are essentially two designated nodal agencies in the central government for grievance redressal mechanism. These organisations are:
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG)
It is the primary agency related to the public grievance resolution process and citizen-centric initiatives. Its role is to take citizen-centric initiatives in the areas requiring administration reforms. The department also delivers quality public services to citizens hassle-free while addressing public issues.
It forwards grievances to the concerned ministries or State governments responsible for grievance resolution and redressal of complaints. Depending on the severity of the grievance, the department manages more than a thousand grievances annually with timely follow-up.Â
The department determines the significant issues behind public grievances and delays in redressal. These issue areas are evaluated, and remedial actions are recommended to the concerned department/organisation.
Directorate for Public Grievances (DPG)
According to a study of the existing public grievance redressal mechanism in the Ministry of India conducted during 1987, the Department of Civil Grievances had been established by the Cabinet Secretary on April 1, 1988. The Directorate was first established to investigate individual complaints related to four National Government Departments prone to citizen complaints. As a result, other Departments with a more significant public contact were introduced to this purview; therefore, such a Directorate now handles grievances for 16 National Government Organisations.
This Directorate had been envisioned as an administrative body evaluating grievances carefully, especially those where this complainant had been unable to get a remedy through internal machinery and hierarchical authority. However, unlike the Division of AR&PG, this Directorate of Civil Grievances does have the power to summon files and officials for discussions to ensure that grievances are handled in a reasonable, impartial, and appropriate way.
Furthermore, where this Directorate has been convinced that the complaint still hasn’t been handled in this manner, it offers appropriate suggestions for consideration and approval by the relevant Ministry or Division, which must be executed in under one month.
Significance and Impact
The majority of grievances received in the agencies mentioned above are related to excessive delays in making decisions and refusal/inability to process petitioner requests timely. The grievances only escalate to such superior levels due to inefficient handling of public complaints at mid or lower-level departments.
There are outdated regulations and manual instructions which tend to shift the procedures on the citizens. The issues like public complaints, policy reforms, and citizen welfare must be effectively addressed with systemic reforms. The best way to resolve a problem is to prevent it from arising in the first place. Studies indicate that a typical grievance redressal mechanism takes six months.
To overcome all the above issues, establishing an efficient grievance redressal mechanism is a prime objective of the government in India. New modes of government like e-Governance are developed to benefit the public.
Since 2007, DARPG has been operating a Centralised Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). The Government of India’s flagship initiative is to address public grievances in a centralised, accountable, efficient, and transparent manner.
Conclusion
A crucial part of future India is the resolution of public grievances as a cornerstone of ‘Minimum Governance.’ It is closely tied to the expansion of e-Government in India, particularly in the last few years, through distinctive and cutting-edge projects.
The endeavour to usher in a good governance era has started brightly with the enhancement of grievance and redress departments. However, it is equally critical to recognise that governance is an area in which the citizen has a specific role to play.
