eGovWatch: Maharashtra CM launches web portal to address public grievances

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today launched “Aaple Sarkar”, a web portal, for direct and close communication between citizens and the government.

“The web portal would provide the necessary transparency for direct connection with citizens,” Fadnavis said. He said he plans to make “Aaple Sarkar”, the flagship portal of the state government and even the Right to Service Act would be linked to the portal.

The Draft bill of Right to Services has been made public for suggestions and views and would be tabled in the budget session of State Legislature in March, he said. A facilitation centre would be outsourced to provide necessary infrastructure for maintenance of the web portal and ensure that its objective to serve the people is achieved.

A cut off date would be announced soon after which only e-files will be accepted in the government set up, he added. Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshtriya said the grievance redressal on “Aaple Sarkar” would be done in 21 days. “Information related to any public service and functioning of Government departments in Mantralaya will be provided. No personal information and the details of any matter which is sub-judice will not be entertained on the portal,” he added.

In the second phase, government offices at district level, municipal and tehsil level would be included, he said. Giving details of the portal, Principal Secretary Information and Technology Ajay Mehta said, “Aaple Sarkar” which is also a mobile app, was divided into three parts- Grievance Management, RTI online and collaboration

Grievance redressal is a one stop platform for citizens to seek redressal of their grievances, which can be filed under appropriate category and a token number will be provided for the same, Mehta said.

The token number can be used to track the status of the grievance. The grievance redressal platform will coordinate and monitor redressal of issues related to general public services and working of any mantralaya department. Registration of the portal/mobile app can be be done using e-mail Id and mobile number, he said. “On successful lodging of a grievance, an e-acknowledgement is auto generated by the system.

The citizen receives an update in the portal stating that his grievance is “in progress” once it has been received by the department. Once the grievance has been resolved by the concerned department, the citizen receives a message informing him/her about the same and asking for feedback, Mehta said.

Citizens can file RTI application/first appeal online. The portal provides the facility to make requisite fee payments for applications online through internet banking, debit card/credit card. Similarly, in order to promote the concept of “good governance”, the collaboration platform assists citizens to give suggestions to the government. These suggestions can be used for effective public participation in policy making, he added.