Bhubaneswar: People from the remotest corners of Odisha converged at the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell here on Monday as Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi conducted the 17th public grievance hearing, underlining the state government’s emphasis on accessible and people-centric governance.
Five senior ministers, along with Additional Chief Secretaries, Secretaries and senior officials, joined the Chief Minister in hearing grievances raised by citizens who travelled to Bhubaneswar from different parts of the state.
As in earlier hearings, the Chief Minister first interacted with Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) outside the grievance cell and personally listened to their concerns. Of the 32 PwD applicants, medical assistance of ₹1 lakh was sanctioned for Brajakishore Bandha of Bhadrak district and ₹1.50 lakh for Kartika of Jajpur district, both of whom are suffering from serious ailments. Majhi also directed officials to expedite action on pending applications seeking medical support.
The Chief Minister further instructed authorities to provide travel and medical assistance to Tilottama Pandey of Patnagarh, who is suffering from kidney and neurological ailments and had travelled from a remote area to Bhubaneswar to seek help.
Majhi later heard the grievances of all other registered applicants inside the grievance cell. According to official data, of the 14,054 grievances received during the last 16 public grievance hearings, 13,169 have been resolved, reflecting a disposal rate of 94 per cent, while the remaining cases are under process.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said grievance redressal remains one of the most important programmes of his government. He added that special emphasis has been placed on grievance resolution under the 15-point directive aimed at making the administration more people-oriented.
Regular grievance hearings at the state level, Majhi said, have also strengthened the mechanism at the district level, with Collectors and Superintendents of Police now conducting grievance hearings on a regular basis.
The programme was attended by Ministers Prithiviraj Harichandan, Krushna Chandra Mahapatra, Dr Mukesh Mahaling, Nityananda Gond and Rabinarayan Naik, along with senior officials from various departments.
