Tech-driven redressal

At the initiative of a young IAS officer in Jehanabad, technology is being leveraged to ensure expeditious grievance redressal through intensive monitoring of schemes and projects

- Anil Swarup

Monitoring of disposal of complaints and important government projects largely depends on various review meetings and MIS reports that are generated in silos. As District Magistrates and other officers of the district administration are essentially field officers, it is imperative that they incorporate a culture of doorstep governance and ensure the timely disposal of such grievances. At the district level, there is a need to supplement field inspections and official inspections with robust data to make them more productive. Similarly, an integrated approach is needed for monitoring government infrastructure projects. Technology can be a game-changer in establishing such an integrated approach, and it does not need to be sophisticated.

A mobile application has been created in Jehanabad district using the Google My Maps tool for monitoring complaints, grievances, important official matters, and infrastructural projects. All relevant information is mapped within the concerned Gram Panchayat boundary (territorial mapping) as well as with the concerned office (functional mapping). To systematically store the information, several exhaustive filters have been created based on the source of information or trigger for action, namely: 

. Chief Minister Janta Darbar/e-Compliance Dashboard

. Divisional Commissioner Office/departments 

. High Court/NHRC/SHRC/ other statutory bodies

. District Janta Darbar/Lok Shikayat

. Media/social media/ WhatsApp/phone

. Weekly panchayat inspections/important projects