GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL

Grievance Redressal can be defined as the receipt and processing of complaints from citizens and consumers, and also the actions taken on any issue raised by them to avail services more effectively.

Current Provisions

1. Institutional
   • Directorate of Public Grievances: Under the Cabinet Secretariat of Government of India
     Helps to obtain responses to unresolved grievances on matters.
   • Lokpal: The Lokpal Act has empowered them to inquire into any complaint of corruption against ministers, public servants or a former Prime Minister.
   • Central Vigilance Commission: They look into any grievances raised by the public regarding the conduct and functioning of a public servant.
   • State and National Human Rights Commission: They look into complaints and offer amicable redressal in their respective domain areas.
   • State and National Women’s Commissions: They take in grievances and complaints related to women and also seek their amicable redressal.
   • National Commission for SC and for STs: They seek resolution of complaints in their prescribed areas.
2. Statutory
   • RTI Act: It empowers the citizens to ask any questions to the Government, seeks information, obtains Government documents.
   • Gram Sabhas: The 73rd amendment act mandates that Gram Sabhas perform effective grievance redressal services within members of the Sabha as well as in concerned areas.
   • Consumer Protection Council: Set up at Union and state levels, helps consumers to assert grievances regarding quality, effectiveness or utility or other aspects of the article.
   • Banking Ombudsman Scheme: Formed under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, it seeks to hear consumer grievances and effectively resolve them.
3. e-Governance
   • UMANG App: It is an e-governance initiative for information dissemination and also has features to submit online grievances.
   • CPGRAMS: It is an online system which enables submission of grievances by the aggrieved citizens from anywhere, anytime (24×7).
   • INGRAM Portal: Through the INGRAM portal, efforts are made to ensure that the grievance is redressed by taking it up with the authorities concerned.
   • MyGov: It is a platform launched in 2014 to disseminate information by the Government and seek public opinion.
   • Twitter Seva: It has been brought out by many ministries who seek to accept complaints through Twitter and perform redressal.
   • PRAGATI: It is a multi-purpose platform aimed at addressing common man’s grievances, and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes.
   • Jansunwai or e-Samvad: It is an initiative of the UP government fully dedicated for grievance redress through e-Governance.
   • E-Dakhil: The portal empowers the consumer and their advocates to file consumer complaints.

Importance of Grievance Redressal

1. Administration

• Better Policy Outcomes: Timely capture and appropriate analysis of public grievances helps generate better outcomes.
• Proactive organizational culture: Effective grievance redressal helps in making public bodies more committed to public welfare.
• Improves Service delivery: Grievances are an opportunity for policymakers to understand the drawbacks and thus improve upon them.
• Data Analytics: Grievance redressal systems enable data and information regarding public preferences and help better analysis.
• Public Trust: A system that expeditiously resolves citizen issues, also enjoys more public trust.
• Better Governance: It is important to also take note of grievances which can also help arrive at a better state of governance.
• Accountability: Accessible and effective grievance mechanisms are necessary components of accountability.
• Responsibility: Effective grievance redressal shows a government that takes proper responsibility towards its actions and for citizens.
• Sevottam Model: Public Grievance Redressal mechanism is also central to the Sevottam model.

2. Citizens

• Participation: It ensures citizen’s stake in policy narratives and thus leads to more consensus-oriented outcomes.
• Effective Justice: In cases of fraud and malpractices, redressal can seek to achieve justice for aggrieved citizens.
• Bridges the State-Citizen Gap: Various mechanisms help bridge the gap between authorities and citizens and help authorities be more citizen-oriented.
• Personalised Resolution: Grievance also prevents any one-size-fits-all approach and allows for more area and class-specific policies.
• Voice to the Marginalised: It also empowers the marginal sections to voice out any concerns and issues they face. Example: Supreme court ordered district-level grievance redressal authorities in the three tribal-dominated districts of Madhya Pradesh.
• Power over Authority: It gives the public the power to question the government.

Challenges to Grievance Redressal

1. Citizens

• Fear: Consumers are often afraid to report malpractice about authority, with fear of retribution.
• Lack of Awareness: Many citizens lack the knowledge of proper channels through which complaints can be made to the authorities.
• Non-Anonymous: Customers want to report complaints anonymously, especially those against the authorities; the unavailability of such options makes them hesitant.
• Low Trust Factor: Lack of faith in government bodies also deters citizens from seeking redressal to their issues.
• Gender Divide: Women may not have equal resources and opportunities to voice their concerns.
• Culture of Adjustment: India has a culture of adjustment that mandates adjusting to grievances rather than raising them with the authorities.
• Digital Illiteracy: Many grievance portals are online and thus digital access and literacy are necessary to operate.
• Digital Divide: Differentiated access to digital media also means differentiated opportunities to express grievances.

2. Administration

• Infrastructure: State entities lack effective digital infrastructure to implement various online grievances portals.
• Lack of Training: Grievance redressal involves skilled workforce and also requires adequate training for implementation and disposal.
• Bureaucratic Red Tapism: Various grievance channels are subjected to high pendency rates and slow-moving processes.
• Corruption: Malpractices and corruption at many levels of the authorities.
• Weak Existing Mechanisms: For example, remained underutilized due to lack of awareness, lack of access to technology, and low level of public trust.
• Delays: Grievance redressal is frequently faced with delays and lack of information dissemination from the authorities.
• Inaccuracies: Also spamming of feedback forms, driving false impressions, and distorting real figures.
• Lack of Political Will: Without political will, grievance redressal can never have policy priority.
• Redressal vs. Disposal: High disposal rates of cases do not always amount to high resolution of issues.

Way Forward

• Policy Priority: Any scheme or policy must have a grievance redressal mechanism as a priority and not see it as a challenge.
• Shifting from Disposal to Resolution: It is clear that disposal of cases does not always mean resolution; policy must target resolution rather than disposal.
• Utilisation of Alternative Means: Lok Adalats, Jansunwai, and social audits must also be used to ensure inclusion of those who may not have access to CPGRAMS.
• Informal Channels: Grievances also come through informal channels; thus, these channels must also be kept open and viable.
• Legislation: Citizen’s Charter and Grievance Redressal Bill, 2011, which was stalled 10 years ago, must be reintroduced and passed.
• Awareness Generation: This can be done through Gram Sabhas and Jansunwai, where people are made aware of the channels thy can use to voice complaints and issues they face.
• Technology: The focus must be on real-time tracking and status updates of complaints made, as well as having a time-bound approach.

2nd ARC Committee Recommendations

• Internal Grievance Redressal Mechanism: There is a need for a strong and effective internal grievance redressal mechanism in each organization.
• Analysis of Prone Areas: Government organizations should analyze the complaints received and identify the areas where interventions would be required.
• Lok Adalats: It was recommended that Lok Adalats would be effective in settling many consumer disputes and must be empowered to do so.
• State-Society Cooperation: It sought active and cooperative participation by government agencies in civil society initiatives in grievance redressal.
• Participation of Women and the Physically Challenged: It also recommended measures to ensure full participation of women and the disabled in grievance redressal mechanisms.