The department of administrative reforms and public grievances (DARPG), Government of India, has ranked Chandigarh fifth, out of nine Union Territories (UTs), in terms of timely and quality disposal of citizens’ grievances.
The National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, which has a larger population, fared better than Chandigarh and bagged the fourth spot.
The report, which has been prepared for the first time, assessed states and UTs on two dimensions — timely disposal of grievances and quality of the resolution. The performance of the states and UTs between January 1 and September 30, 2023, was taken into account for the purpose.
Chandigarh scored 46.13% after analysis of the 3,633 grievances received by it during the said period. Delhi, meanwhile, scored 52.29% to grab the fourth spot. Lakshadweep, with a score of 69.82%, was adjudged the best performer.
RK Garg, president of the Second Innings’ Association, a senior citizens’ organisation said, UT administration has failed to develop and maintain a healthy grievance resolution mechanism. The issue, he said, was repeatedly raised with the authorities concerned but in vain.
When contacted, UT adviser Dharam Pal said, “I have not seen the report. I am not even aware of the parameters on which the ranking was given.”
{{/usCountry}}When contacted, UT adviser Dharam Pal said, “I have not seen the report. I am not even aware of the parameters on which the ranking was given.”
{{/usCountry}}As per the report, states/UTs have been categorised into four groups to enable a fair comparison. The first group consists of all north-eastern states, the second has all the UTs, the third comprises rest of the states receiving more than 20,000 grievances a month and the fourth has states with less than 20,000 grievances a month.
The criteria of timely disposal of grievances included percentage of grievances disposed within 30 days. Similarly, to assess the quality disposal of grievances, the citizens feedback (excellent, good or poor) was studied.