The government must take cognisance of every newspaper report, public article, write-up, and Letter to the Editor. It is understood that the government has established formal mechanisms to monitor press reports for public grievance redressal. However, these must be backed by prompt and effective action. It also appears that various ministries and state governments have been directed to take up grievances from newspaper columns and resolve them within a fixed timeframe. Is this actually happening? Let people experience it. Cheers to democracy.
When we speak of suo motu cognisance, Nodal Grievance Redress Officers (GROs) are expected to act on their own initiative on complaints appearing in newspapers or on social media. But do people really experience this in practice? It is said that the government is developing a technological system to automatically register grievances published in newspapers on the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) for proper tracking and resolution. That is commendable, but proper execution is essential. Truth must prevail if public grievances are to be addressed effectively.
According to available information, in 2016 the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) asked all ministries to regularly review newspaper grievance columns and address them within a fixed timeframe. However, many people continue to raise issues”are these actually being addressed? I have not seen this happen. Democracy can be strengthened if public concerns raised in newspapers are treated as a valuable tool for improving governance. For instance, I was unable to secure a toilet for an elderly widow despite repeated correspondence with both central and state governments. I even highlighted the issue in newspapers, yet no action was taken. The government must therefore give due importance to concerns raised in the press.
