Grievance Redressal in India - An Overview
1. Grievance Redressal Mechanism is an important cog in the wheel of any Government.
2. Without efficient grievance redressal mechanisms, the Government and its
administration can never be accountable and effective.
3. In Democracy, citizens make the Government and hold them accountable.
4. Some of the public grievances against the Government could be shortage of food,
overcrowded public transport, late running of trains etc.
Grievances of Citizens in India - Different Types
We can classify public grievances into different categories which are mentioned below.
Grievances against Policies
1. Citizens may have grievances against the policies of the Government which may affect a
large group of people.
2. Such grievances are raised in the media and legislatures.
Grievances due to Maladministration
1. This grievance arises when the Government policies are not implemented efficiently by
the administration due to various issues like lack of coordination between different
departments or agencies or may be due to inefficiency of officials stemming from heavy
workload.
Grievances due to Corruption
1. This arises due to lack of integrity among officials working in the administration. For
many years India is known for its high levels of corruption. For many years the public has
been suffering due to rampant corruption at all levels. However there are efforts from the
current Government to control corruption.
Grievances in Rural Areas
Majority of the population in India resides in rural areas. The grievances faced by them are
given below.
1. Non-availability of supplies - Grievances due to intermittent supply of essential
commodities like electricity, seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, medicines etc. Instead of
making sure the supplies reach intended beneficiaries, it gets leaked into black markets
for profiteering.
2. Delay in Supplies or Services - This happens due to inefficient public distribution
systems.
3. Harassment - Many villagers at the hands of officials when they wanted to avail medical,
administrative and agricultural services.
Grievance Redressal - Nodal Agencies & Other Mechanisms
The 2 most important nodal agencies that are responsible for addressing grievances at the
Central Government are listed below.
1. Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) - It
functions under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
2. Directorate of Public Grievances - It is part of Cabinet Secretariat
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG)
1. The primary role of this department is to plan and implement citizen centric measures in
the domain of public grievances and carry out administrative reforms so that the
Government is in a position to deliver quality public services without any obstacles.
2. The grievances received will be forwarded to the respective ministries, departments, and
state governments. The cases will be followed till it is closed.
Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG)
1. It was set up in the Cabinet Secretariat in 1988. They handle complaints pertaining to 16
Central Government Organisations.
Ombudsman
This concept came from Sweden. It means an officer appointed by the Legislature to handle
complaints against a service or administrative authority.In India Government has appointed
Ombudsmen to resolve grievances in the following sectors.
1. Insurance Ombudsman
2. Banking Ombudsman
3. Income Tax Ombudsman
Lokpal
Lokpal was established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 to investigate corruption
against public functionaries, even the Prime Minister. Lokpal can order investigation from its
internal inquiry wing, Central Bureau Investigation (CBI), Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC).
Tribunals
Tribunals are formed to address delays in disposal of cases in courts. These are quasi-judicial
institutions. Some of the most important tribunals are mentioned below.
1. Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)
2. Railway Claims Tribunal
3. Debt Recovery Tribunal
4. Customs, Excise and Service Tax Tribunal
5. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal
6. Labour Tribunal
Committee on Petitions - Parliamentary Committee
This is a Parliamentary Committee which works on redressing grievances of the public, a citizen
can submit petitions to secure redress against grievances.
E-Governance - To Address Public Grievances
The current Government has been working on addressing the public grievances by utilising
Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Some of the noteworthy efforts of the
Government to implement E-governance to reduce Public Grievances in a timely manner has
been mentioned below.
1. Central Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) - It is an
integrated online grievance redressal and monitoring system developed by National
Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with DARPG and DPG. Citizens can lodge
complaints and monitor the status of their complaints through CPGRAMS. This system
was developed in 2007.
2. Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) - It is a multi-modal
and multi-purpose grievance redressal system designed by the Prime Minister's Office
(PMO) and NIC. It increases the cooperation and coordination between Union
Government and State Government in addressing the grievances and monitoring
government schemes.
3. E-Nivaran - It was launched by the Central Board of Direct Taxes for online redressal of
grievances related to taxpayers. The taxpayers can register and track their grievances in
this system.
4. Unified Mobile Application for New-Age Governance (UMANG) - It is a single
platform through which citizens across India can access e-governance services, starting
from Central Government to local government bodies.
5. MyGov - It is a platform launched in 2014 to disseminate information by the Government
and Government can seek public opinion.
6. Nivaran - It is an online portal launched by the Indian Railways in 2016, to address the
grievances of lakhs of Railway Employees.
7. Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM) - It is a portal launched by the
Ministry of Consumer Affairs to address grievances of the public when they purchase
any goods or services.
8. Mera Aspataal (My Hospital) - It was an app and portal launched by the Ministry of
Health in 2017 under the National Health Mission. It was to capture patient feedback for
the services received at the Government Hospitals. This is to help the Government
enhance the quality of health care services provided across public facilities.
Other Citizens Grievance Redressal Mechanisms
1. Right to Information Act - This act was passed in 2005. It empowers the citizens to ask
any questions to the Government, seek information, obtain Government documents,
inspect Government works. This act is to not only empower citizens but also promote
transparency and accountability in the functioning of Government.
2. Citizens Charter - The task of formulating and opertionalising Citizens Charter was
undertaken by DARPG. The idea was to bring in transparency in public services, and to
correct things when they go wrong. The idea of Citizen Charter was first pioneered in the
United Kingdom in 1991, with focus on public services.However there have been many
loopholes in the citizens charter which needs to be fixed.
3. Gram Sabha - Conducted at village levels to address the grievances of village
community members.
4. Senior Citizen Act - It has been passed to address the grievances of senior citizens.
5. Hostels Act - This has been passed to address the grievances of working women.
Sevottam
1. This is a model proposed by the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission.
2. When translated into English, Sevottam means Excellent Service.
3. This would provide a standard model for grievance redressal mechanisms. It will plug the
loopholes of the Citizen Charter.
4. Sevottam focuses on improving the quality of service delivered to the citizens.
Sevottam - Focus Areas
Sevottam will work on rectifying problems in the following 3 main domains.
1. Public Grievance Mechanism
2. Citizen Charter
3. Service Delivery
Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) - 2 Commissions
Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) is the committee appointed by the Government of
India for giving recommendations to reform the Public Administration System in India. So far
there have been 2 Administrative Reforms Commissions. The details are shared below.
1st Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)
1. The 1st ARC was established on 5th January, 1966.
2. The commission was chaired by Morarji Desai and was later chaired by K.
Hanumanthaiah
Mandate of 1st ARC
1. They were tasked with the mandate to suggest measures to improve financial,
personnel, economic, district, agricultural administrations.
2. The administrations concerning Defence, Intelligence, External Affairs, Railways were
excluded from the purview of 2nd ARC.
2nd Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)
1. 2nd ARC was constituted on 31st August 2015.
2. Veerappa Moily was the chairman of the 2nd ARC.
3. It was tasked to revamp the public administrative system.
2nd ARC Report
The 2nd ARC submitted 15 reports covering the following areas
1. Right to Information (RTI)
2. Ethics in Governance
3. Local Governance
4. Public Administration
5. E-Governance
6. Combating Terrorism
