Without a political govt, folks in J&Ok use ‘L-G Mulaqat’ window to boost points, get answer

On Thursday, Ghulam Nabi Kar, 65, sat in entrance of an online digital camera for the primary time in his life. On the display screen was Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and almost all the UT’s prime paperwork. Without a political authorities, and even with the District Development Councils now in place, residents are turning to the administration’s grievance portal for on a regular basis considerations in addition to coverage points.
Kar was one in all 23 residents chosen for an interplay with the administration over video conferencing as a part of Sinha’s public outreach and grievance redress efforts. Of the hundreds of complaints obtained by the L-G’s grievance portal, a number of – at the very least one from every district – are chosen relying on the character of the grievance for a direct interplay with Sinha within the final week of the month.
“My house was damaged in the 2014 flood. I have been awaiting compensation since then,” Kar stated, within the fifth session of the ‘L-G Mulaqat’ on Thursday. The month-to-month occasion started after Sinha took workplace in August.

Kar stated his son discovered the portal on-line and recommended inserting a grievance on it.
A case had been processed and a cheque issued. But with the household failing to deposit it, the cheque lapsed. “Since then, I have been running around, seeking re-issue of the cheque. But no one has been able to help,” he stated.
After listening to the question, Sinha requested Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary to reply. “The relief files had been closed in 2016 and this issue could not be resolved. However, taking note of this as a special case, we will issue a fresh cheque,” he stated.
Secretary, Public Grievances, J&Ok, Simrandeep Singh advised The Indian Express: “Grievance redress systems generally work only when top leadership directly monitors or takes interest. L-G Mulaqaat is one such monitoring and interactive platform wherein the L-G and the chief secretary directly review the performance with all administrative secretaries, DCs, SPs and senior officials from various departments,”
He stated that with every session, the variety of complaints disposed of has additionally gone up progressively: from a disposal proportion of 52 within the first version, the determine has gone as much as 86 per cent within the final. “There is scrutiny of each complaint in front of the entire administrative machinery, therefore a lot of times, action is taken even before the complaint is brought before the L-G,” Singh stated.
However, the trouble is also to separate grievances from calls for. Concerns concerning macadamisation of roads, necessities of bridges or establishments and typically, even coverage necessities additionally come by way of the portal.
In the second version of the mulaqat, a resident of Sidher, in RS Pura space of Jammu, acknowledged that his village was neglected of reservation for folks residing alongside the International Border. On February 22, the administration issued orders to incorporate not simply Sidher, however 42 different villages throughout the ambit of reservation.
An attendee at Srinagar raised a question a couple of non-public belief taken up by the then authorities in 2018 and all 19 employees members on the establishment remaining unpaid since then. Chief Secretary B V R Subramanian in attendance, the L-G directed that the wage of the official be withheld till the employees on the establishment are paid.
“L-G sahab directed the officials to resolve this matter. He also said that since we have been unpaid for the last 36 months, the official concerned will not get his salary until this is resolved,” Manzoor Ahmad stated. Another attendee from Jammu raised the problem of economic automobiles passing by way of a village in Samba district to keep away from the toll plaza on the nationwide freeway. Similarly, a complainant apprised the L-G of low voltage in his locality.

The departments with the best load of grievances embody Revenue, General Administration, Home, Public Works and School Education.
Listing the variety of officers he had contacted about electrical energy woes in his space, Arshid Ayoub stated, “If the matter had been resolved at any level until now, no one would need to contact the L-G’s office. It is a last resort of people like me, who have tried and failed to get a hearing in any office.”