Govt to finalise report on COVID-19 preparedness survey based on responses from 266 IAS officers

The central government will soon finalise its report on national preparedness related to COVID-19 based on the responses received from more than 260 IAS officers, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

A decision on the survey report and other matters was taken after a meeting of the empowered group of officers, constituted under the Disaster Management Act 2005, on public grievances and suggestions to ensure timely implementation of COVID-19 response activities to identify problem areas and delineate policy, formulate plans, strategise operations and take necessary steps regarding it.

The meeting was attended by Amit Khare, Secretary, Human Resource Development (HRD), Kshtrapati Shivaji Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG),Ashutosh Agnihotri, Joint Secretary Home Ministry, Meera Mohanty, Director, Cabinet Secretariat and other senior PMO officials.

"The DARPG would expeditiously finalise COVID-19 national preparedness survey 2020 in which 266 IAS officers, who have served as assistant secretaries in the government of India in last five years, have responded to a 23-point questionnaire to identify hot spots district-wise and adopt suggestions for improved preparedness," the statement said.

The DARPG shall set up a technical team comprising five officials for preparation of daily reports on COVID-19, consisting of a summary and a list of suggestions and grievances received/disposal status on the Centralized Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal, it said mentioning the decisions taken in the meeting.

The DARPG would lay down guidelines for all central ministries/departments and state governments for improved monitoring of public grievances related to coronavirus, the statement said.

Every department/ministry shall appoint designated nodal officers for handling COVID-19 public grievances, name, phone number and email ID of the designated nodal officer shall be placed on the website of the department/ministry, it said.

"Considering the urgency and importance of redressal of COVD-19 grievances, it shall be incumbent on every ministry/department to prioritise these grievances at the earliest preferably within a timeline of three days and provide redressal," the statement said.

The DARPG would further issue similar guidelines for adoption by the state governments, it said.

The suggestions related to COVID-19 shall be collated by MyGov.in, the statement said, adding that MyGov has received over 46,000 suggestions and they would be duly processed for implementation.