Naidu launches weekly field grievance drive in AP

VIJAYAWADA: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced that every Friday will be observed as “field grievance day” across the state, with public representatives and officials jointly visiting constituencies to receive and resolve public complaints at the grassroots level.Addressing the second day of the district collectors’ conference on Friday, Naidu said the state govt must build a strong reputation in grievance redressal by ensuring speedy and accountable governance. He warned officials against negligence in handling petitions and said complaints had emerged that some officers were merely collecting petitions without taking action. “People should not waste time moving around govt offices. Petitions must be resolved quickly and effectively,” Naidu said.He announced that the govt would introduce a “praja durbar”-style mechanism under the Public Grievance Redressal System (PGRS), where public representatives and officials would jointly receive complaints and attempt immediate solutions. Referring to Singapore’s governance practices, Naidu said grievance resolution should happen closer to the people and at the field level. “Just as grievance meetings are held in collectorates every Monday, every Friday will now be observed as field grievance day in constituencies,” he said. Naidu directed district collectors to visit each constituency at least four times a month and function as a “goodwill mission” for resolving public issues.The chief minister stressed that governance must combine technology with a human touch. Reviewing the performance of e-office systems, Naidu said the average file clearance period across the state had come down from 10 days to two days in the last three months. He appreciated ministers, collectors, SPs and secretaries who were disposing of files swiftly through e-office platforms. Naidu particularly praised chief secretary G Sai Prasad for clearing a large volume of files within an average of 10 hours despite a heavy workload. At the same time, he directed officials to improve their pace and ensure that e-files are disposed of within 24 hours. “Speed of governance depends on speedy file clearance. Manual files should be almost eliminated,” he said, directing departments from the secretariat to the mandal level to fully adopt e-office systems.Naidu also said online governance and WhatsApp-based citizen services would help reduce corruption and improve transparency. He noted that nearly 90% of govt services are already available through WhatsApp governance platforms and instructed officials to ensure all services are integrated by Dec. IT minister Nara Lokesh informed that a unified KPI-based dashboard integrating all departmental data would be made operational within 90 days to improve monitoring and decision-making. Naidu further instructed officials to strengthen lightning and cyclone warning systems, prevent illegal constructions in urban areas, and promote seaweed cultivation in coastal districts.