J&K Govt creates Department of Public Grievances; to subsume LG's Grievance Cell

Jammu: J&K government Wednesday created “Department of Public Grievances” as a separate Administrative Department, which will also subsume Lieutenant Governor's Grievance Cell.

The newly created department, being touted as an “administrative reform measure” to fulfil the avowed objective of government to promote citizen-centric e-governance, has been assigned six subjects.

These subjects will also include the one - offering direct, effective and popular interface between the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and the common masses i.e., “Lieutenant Governor's Mulaqaat - Live Public Grievance Hearing” and “Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System - JK-IGRAMS.”

With a focus on quality disposal of grievances, the government has also decided to go against the fresh creation of posts to run the newly administrative department by directing to meet staff--requirement through “internal adjustment.”  

The department has been created in furtherance of Administrative Council decision No 69/6/2023.

The Administrative Council on July 4, 2023, in a meeting chaired by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and attended by Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary and Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor, had given approval to its establishment as a separate Administrative Department.

Sanction to its creation has been accorded in pursuance of Entry 15 of the Second Schedule of Transaction of Business of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, notified vide Government Order No 811-JK(GAD) of 2020, dated September 1, 2020.

As per GAD order, the newly created Administrative Department has been assigned six subjects viz., Redressal of Public Grievances; Lieutenant Governor's Mulaqaat - Live Public Grievance Hearing; Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System - JK-IGRAMS; Monitoring disposal of grievances by Administrative Departments and subordinate offices; Grievance Redressal Quality Monitoring and Monitoring of redressal of grievances received on social media.

It has been further ordered that the Lieutenant Governor's Grievance Cell will be subsumed in the Department of Public Grievances.

It has been directed that the staff provided in the Lieutenant Governor's Grievance Cell by the General Administration Department will work in the Department of Public Grievances till posting of permanent staff. “Requirement of staff, if any, on account of creation of the Department of Public Grievances, shall be met through internal adjustment and there shall be no fresh creation of posts in this regard,” GAD Commissioner Secretary Sanjeev Verma has ordered.

Notably, earlier, the subject of "Redressal of Public Grievances" was assigned to the Administrative Reforms, Inspections, Trainings and Grievances Department.

“This administrative reform measure (establishment of a separate Administrative Department of Public Grievances) is in line with the commitment of the government that envisages promotion of citizen-centric governance with emphasis on grievance redressal innovations through e-Governance. This will ensure better administration and quality public grievance with better outcomes for the aggrieved thereby guaranteeing efficient disposal of official business,” the government spokesperson has explained the avowed objective and rationale behind the move.