Government of India in recent past has focussed on reforming the public grievance redressal mechanisms, however their effectiveness remains limited. Discuss.

The Public grievance redressal mechanisms are the methods and/or mechanisms under which the grievances of an aggrieved citizen are solved in a time bound manner.

Reforms done by the government:

• CPGRAMS
• Citizen’s charter
• Sevottam model
• Fast track courts
• E-governance
• Appointment of the staff on vacant positions

Reasons behind limited effectiveness of reforms:

• Limited awareness among the people about these reforms.
• No transparency and accountability. Thus the progress of reforms and their performance are not checked.
• Huge number of complaints and overburdening of the grievance redressal mechanisms.
• Vacant posts and slow rate of appointment of officers and support staff.
• Bureaucracy is also averse to reforms as it changes the status quo.
• Still reliance on paper complaints and lack of digitization.
• Further lack of adequate devolution of powers.

To make governance effective and efficient, a proper grievance audit result system is vital.