The changes brought in by the state government in the procedure to conduct Lokshahi Din seems to have defeated the very purpose for which it was held, claim a few residents who regularly filed complaints at this monthly event.
According to the government resolution, civic bodies in Maharashtra will not be entertaining complaints allegedly exposing corruption in the system or those related to encroachment.
“In the new system, the civic administration is not accepting complaints related to corruption or irregularities in some departments.
They are only accepting individual complaints such as water connection, sewer line cleaning, among others. These complaints can be tackled at ward level or by the junior engineer. You don’t need a Lokshahi Din to highlight these problems,” said Sudhir Patil, a resident of Agroligaon.
Patil had, at the Lokshahi Din, exposed how sewerage treatment plants constructed by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation after spending crores had turned into white elephants and how contractors awarded work for undergrounding power cables were doing shoddy work.
He alleged that a lobby of IAS officers was not keen on hearing complaints related to corruption, as they had to file a written reply to the queries raised by residents. “IAS officers are the ones who had to face problems because they had to listen to residents’ appeals. Also, there is a huge backlog of files that has to be cleared at there level,” Patil claimed.
Patil said, “I have raised issues highlight how tax payers’ money was being wasted. Even during the last Lokshahi Din, I raised the issue with the civic administration. Though they accepted my application, I got a written reply after 15 days stating that my complaint does not fall under the category of individual complaint and so it was being dismissed.”
The Agroligaon resident, said, “I have raised the matter with the chief minister, but I haven’t got any response from his office. In the new system, people are not getting justice and the very purpose of having Lokshahi Din is getting defeated.”
Another resident from Airoli, who too has been regularly filing complaints at the Lokshahi Din, said, “After the new changes in the process of Lokshahi Din I have stopped submitting my complaints. During the Lokshahi Din, it was compulsory for officials to submit written replies, but that is not the case anymore. If we point out at any irregularities, it is not necessary for officials to reply.”
A civic official, said, “We are working according to the provisions in the new GR. These changes have not been made at our level. Despite this, if a resident has any problem, he can contact the municipal commissioner for redressal. There are various forums which are still available.
So, saying that Lokshahi Din was the only forum for complaint redressal is totally wrong. All senior officials here are there to help Navi Mumbaikars.”
According to the new system, citizens have to submit their application in a prescribed format 15 days prior to the hearing. An official will scrutinises the application and initiate relevant action within 15 days so that a reply could be given to the applicant.
If the application is rejected, the applicant is informed with reason and the latter is not allowed to participate in the hearing. The government has informed that a dissatisfied applicant could further appeal to the district collector, and also take up the matter to Mantralaya.
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