KMC to show-cause officials if complaints remain pending

Kolkata: To ensure quick solutions, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is learnt to have decided to ask its officials concerned to show-cause if complaints by citizens submitted online are not taken care of within a week.

Sources said that the Mayor has given strict instructions that complaints reaching KMC cannot be kept pending and needs to be processed as soon as possible. The grievances need to be addressed within a week, failing which the

officials concerned will be held accountable.

The civic body has overhauled its online grievance redressal system where citizens can lodge complaints through the KMC website. In the new system, citizens will also get to know which official is dealing with their matter and the complications which have arisen, if any. So far, citizens could not know as to who was dealing with their complaints. This resulted in having to dial the mayor during the Talk to Mayor programme to again submit their complaints.

In the present mechanism, citizens will have to register their complaints on the website by submitting their contact numbers and e-mail address. Following the registration, an e-file will be generated and the link to which will be sent to their phone through messages. This link will reveal the details of the complaint status to the citizen.

It was learnt that several complaints reach the mayor which alleges inaction on the part of the civic body despite complaints having been lodged. The mayor is learnt to have said that officials need to act responsibly instead of waiting for orders from the top. In a bid to maintain accountability, the mayor had started the system of ‘work diary’ where employees had to upload the status of the work given to them for handling.