Government plans to cut grievance redressal time

With the next general election due in a year, the UPA government may opt for a faster grievance redress mechanism for the aam aadmi.

With the next general election due in a year, the UPA government may opt for a faster grievance redress mechanism for the aam aadmi.

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The original Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill said that in case of delay in delivery of any government service, a consumer’s grievance would be addressed in 30 days.

But the Union cabinet on Thursday is set to approve amendments to cut this time limit further for “urgent cases” and services of “common nature”.

According to officials, the government is of the opinion that even if an agency delays service over small issues, the consumer need not wait for full 30 days for redress. The new mechanism would also help people, like passport applicants who have to travel in short notice and can’t wait for a full month.The bill — introduced with much fanfare in 2011 December as a counter measure to the Anna Hazare’s movement — is one of the key measures of the UPA to provide better governance.

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The original Bill also provided for four levels of appeals for redress of grievances — including the lokpal or the lokayuktas as final levels. But a parliamentary standing committee had strongly recommended that lokpal/lokayuktas be removed because these bodies are aimed to tackle corruption while the Bill is pitted to ensure timely delivery of services from government agencies.