http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31807&articlexml=PMs-office-turns-complaint-box-into-policy-pointers-02052016001036 May 02 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai) PM's office turns complaint box into policy pointers Rajeev Deshpande New Delhi Afew months after assuming office, PM Narendra Modi asked officials to fix an urgent problem: a six-fold jump in grievance mail was choking the PMO's response system, leading to delays running into several weeks in processing complaints that ranged from operation of Jan Dhan accounts to stuck patents. Getting rid of truckloads of redundant material was a start.The PMO created space for a staff of 50, a digital system for web filing of complaints, online transfer of petitions to central departments and SMS alerts for complainants. Even at 3,000 petitions a day, processing time came down to days. But as grievance redressal improved, data analysis revealed policy and design glitches -some which threatened to undermine the efficacy of the Modi government's ambitious welfare schemes -leading to interventions and course corrections aimed at addressing root causes for the complaints to pile up in the first place. A Jan Dhan account holder who deposited `100 in a bank branch other than his “home branch“ found`29 deducted as cash handling charge. Realising that negative experiences could dis credit the scheme itself, rules were clarified to ensure such levies were not charged from beneficiaries of the financial inclusion programme. gramme. Feedback about problems in postal deliveries led to a review of tracking of parcels, speed post and money orders and the introduction of a post information mobile app and SMS-based messaging. Similarly, the railways' refund system was tweaked and changes made to income tax and excise procedures to reduce hassles. Initially, a sharp rise in petitions took officials by sur prise as the yearly average rose from 90 lakh-1.2 lakh complaints to close to 6 lakh between June 2014 and March 2015. The increase seemed driven by expectations generated by the Modi campaign's promise of “maximum governance“ and perceptions of an empowered PMO. “The motivation came from the top with the PM seeking improvements. This led to re-engineering of processes that boosted efficiency with the same staff strength.The PM's `Pragati' governance reviews helped and resulted in a superior rate of disposal. We are encouraging states to seamlessly integrate with our system,“ said Anurag Jain, joint secretary in the PMO. The change has been significant as disposal rate of central departments went up from 42% in July 2015 to the current average of over 85%.Though a third of the complaints are referred to the states by the PMO, they still need sorting. Of 98 organisations in the central sector, 33 have a disposal rate of more than 90%, 25 are in the 80-90% range, 20 in the 70-80% category and eight in the 50-70% range. A handful of departments are below the 50% threshold, accounting for 1.6% of total grievances. Officials feel the policy lessons are invaluable. The learning curve has led to improvements in EPFO, better facilities for Indian workers at missions, particularly in West Asia, swifter disposal of insurance and pension claims and more accountable distribution of BPL cooking gas connections.
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