It is no denying the fact that the Lieutenant Governor keeps on personally visiting localities and areas in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir to take stock of the problems faced by the people and people also in turn inform the administration even by personally meeting the authorities including the Lieutenant Governor in deputations for resolving their problems and redressing their grievances. If there is some commitment made by the Lieutenant Governor and in most of the cases, issues are sorted out and sanctions accorded following such meetings with general public and the same are passed on to the concerned Departmental heads, it is incumbent upon them to comply with those directions meticulously. It is natural corollary that in case of encountering any problems in implementing process, equally it becomes their duty to have such problems reported to get resolved. However, there was no point in either treating such top level directions casually, or go slow about them or prove entirely frugal in implementation process. It could be realised that post commitment with the public by the Lt. Governor in taking no action on the ground not only amounted to wilfully disobeying the orders but contributing to making a fun of such meetings with the public, besides trivialising their grievances and problems.
According high priority to listening to the grievances of the public is commitment of every successful and responsive Government. It may be noted that now usually it is the other way round. In other words, authorities now visit the people right in their areas and localities wherever possible to get acquainted with the issues, mostly of the nature of day to day basis and promise prompt action and even pass directions from the spot itself. If no action, delayed action or wilfully causing dilly dallying by the concerned departments take place, that all contributed to defeating the very purpose of redressing peoples grievances. So far as issues concerning providing funds for implementation process of whatever directions, in case funds were required, could be sorted out with the Finance Department. Towards that end, the Chief Secretary who happens to be the Financial Commissioner Finance also has issued directions to all the concerned authorities. Prompt action in future to be doubly ensured is all about the crux of such fresh directions given which remains to be seen to be complied with.
It is hard to comprehend as to why at each step fresh, renewed and repeated directions are needed to be given for attending to and complying with important directions in the UT and why in ordinary course that should not be otherwise done. That means either there is wilful disobedience which puts a question mark on the efficacy of manning important positions or things are taken just as ordinary routine matters – doing or not doing- making no difference. How can people get a feel of good, responsive and caring governance if their genuine grievances which otherwise required to be not at all there, are not resolved. Slightly walking an extra step or putting in a bit of more efforts in resolving peoples’ problems should be the top most performance indicator of a departmental head or similar authority in deciding about various options concerning service and career building matters both by suitably appreciating proper implementation and penalising for failing to do so. Times are changing and so are the expectations of the people and it is now percolated deep into the minds and psyche of the people that Governmental authorities are just public servants and the very premise of being in Government service is to serve the people to their satisfaction.
A proper trail of how issues were resolved in concerned departments etc needs to be kept and all details about the exercise should invariably be called upon to be submitted on regular periodic intervals which should invariably include ”nil pendency” or if pending, the reasons stated therefore. We cannot afford to ignore or accord little importance to an important and most sensitive issue of redressing public grievances. Once that is seriously underlined by the implementing authorities, public grievances curve shall be never showing climbing trends, it will be the obverse.
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