Handling Covid-19 grievances: Bengal at bottom

An analysis of the central database on grievance redressal shows the poorest all-India disposal rate of Covid-19 grievances in April was in West Bengal, followed by Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.Bihar, Odisha, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra also have considerable course correction to make, as per the data compiled by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) for the period between March 30 and May 4.The DARPG held a review on Thursday on handling of Covid-19 related grievances at both state-level and by the central government departments.The review has come amid a huge surge in Covid-19-related grievances over the last month---from about 170 weekly pandemic related grievances at states around March 1, the number is now over 2,200. 82449109A total of 14,000 plus complaints on Covid-19 have been mapped onto the central database during the second surge of the pandemic.The disposal rate of grievances is hardly keeping pace. States and UTs could just dispose off 40% of these. The central government has recorded a 79.5% disposal rate in the same period.Among central departments, maximum complaints have landed at the health ministry— the nodal ministry for Covid-19 management— and it recorded a 67.7% disposal rate. Labour ministry and financial services-related grievances are next on the list of high pandemic grievances.The maximum complaints at states and Centre are on hospital infrastructure and quarantine-related issues, followed by banking complaints, education and employee/salary related concerns---all of which have starkly come to the fore during the pandemic.Among states, the highest Covid-19 grievances were recorded in Maharashtra at 9,871. Uttar Pradesh was next at 7,466, followed by Gujarat (6,461), Bihar and Karnataka (around 5,000 each) and Delhi (4,110).As far as addressing of grievances in concerned, West Bengal sits at the bottom with a 2.07% grievance redressal rate in the past month, as cases surged even as the state was also in the middle of a high-voltage assembly election.Of the 2,413 Covid-19 grievances registered towards West Bengal, just 50 were disposed of.The grievance redressal rate was 6.8% in Assam, which also went to polls last month, and 8% in Arunachal Pradesh. Odisha, Punjab and Bihar could not address even half the complaints received.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3eqL7Ew