Over 11,000 complaints pending, no platform for grievance redressal: Thakur

BJP leader and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur claimed more than 11,000 complaints were pending redressal since no alternative has been provided

BJP leader and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur Wednesday claimed more than 11,000 complaints were pending redressal since no alternative has been provided following the scrapping of the "Jan Manch" public grievances redressal programme.

Thakur, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly, also alleged that complaints on the chief minister's helpline number 1100 were not being attended to.

"Jan Manch" was the BJP government's flagship public grievances redressal platform which used to be attended by ministers and officers of different departments to listen to people's complaints and provide on-the-spot solutions.

The people are in a pitiable state as they are now standing before the vehicles of the chief minister and ministers, seeking justice. This does not augur well for the government, he said.

Thakur also alleged that the "indifferent" attitude of the top brass has affected governance as lower-rung officials were also adopting a casual approach.

"It is strange that the chief minister is not updated during his visit to districts," he said and urged the Congress government to evolve a mechanism for redressal of people's complaints.

The former chief minister said that the state government should act promptly and provide solutions to over 11,000 complaints registered through CM's helpline.

He claimed that during his tenure as chief minister, 4.50 lakh complaints were disposed of through Jan Manch and the helpline.

Earlier, addressing an event in the Seraj Assembly constituency, Thakur accused the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh of raising Rs 8,000 crore in loans in six months and closing over 1,000 government institutions including schools, electricity offices and sub-divisional offices.