Complaints to be addressed in 15 days: Govt charter

New Delhi, Nov 2 (PTI) Every ministry and department of the Indian government will have to address people's complaints within 15 days failing which action will be taken against the officer concerned under the proposed Citizens' Charter unveiled Wednesday. The charter, which will form part of a draft legislation, also seeks to make it mandatory for government officials to acknowledge complaints from the public within 24 hours of receipt. The proposals have been put up in public domain for suggestions, Central Indian Ministers Jairam Ramesh and V Narayanasamy told reporters releasing 'an overview' of the Citizens Right to Grievance Redress Bill, 2011. The government plans to set up a grievance redressal mechanism to tackle graft in the lower ranks of administration, a move that comes against the backdrop of social activist Team Anna's anti-corruption campaign. The Bill seeks to cover all the schemes and departments of the Central Indian Government and provide a platform to state governments to implement a similar mechanism for their schemes, the ministers said. The draft makes it compulsory for every ministry and department to act within 15 days on complaints from the public, failing which an appeal could be filed with a higher authority. This authority will have to dispose of the appeal within 30 days. It also seeks to impose a penalty on the grievance redressal officer if any complaint is not addressed in a stipulated time frame. The law will set up a mechanism similar to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and seek to have a "citizens' charter" to deal with public grievances, Ramesh said. Ramesh, Minister in charge of rural development in the Manmohan Singh cabinet, has been coordinating with the Department of Personnel and Training in finalising the draft Bill. Under the proposed law, every public authority will have to designate a Grievance Redress Officer (GRO) right from the block level (a grouping of some villages) up to the Central government. The GRO will receive and act on grievances from the public on services that they are entitled to under any law or government policy, Narayanasamy said. PTI