Public grievance hearing programme to be expanded

Bhubaneswar: Aftera gap of two weeks, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday conducted a public grievance hearing here, where around 5,000 people gathered to get their issues resolved. There was a huge rush at the Chief Minister’s grievance cell in Bhubaneswar during the entry process for registration.

Along with the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Prabhati Parida, four other ministers and senior officers attended the grievance hearing programme which began at 10 am and continued till 5 pm. Altogether 2,403 grievances had been registered for the day.

Public grievance hearing programme is an effort of the BJP government to provide speedy justice to the people. Maximum grievances have been resolved through telephonic instructions to officials concerned, said Parida.

The public grievance hearing programme will be expanded in the coming days. Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) will hear the public grievances at the district level, she said. The Deputy Chief Minister said the BJP government will review the progress made in the public grievance redressal programme and come up with a detailed report after completion of 100 days.

The Chief Minister’s public grievance hearing began on July 1 and is being conducted every Monday. However, the grievance cell remained closed for the last two weeks for the Chief Minister’s visit to New Delhi and Odisha Assembly session.

Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan also conducted a public grievance hearing in the party office here. The Opposition BJD raised questions on such a move of the BJP and said the public hearing should not be limited to party workers only.

“Conduct of public grievance hearings in party offices means the programme is limited to only their party workers. We welcome the move of the government to hear public grievances. But, the common public should not be forced to come to their office to resolve their issues,” said BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty.