New dept to address pleas endears TN govt to public

TIRUCHY: Creation of Mudhalvarin Mugavari Department was among the first few schemes unveiled by the new DMK government to reach out to people and address their grievances expeditiously in its first 100 days. About 4,57,645 petitions were processed through the department, which was the brainchild of Chief Minister MK Stalin, in 100 days and 2.29 lakh petitions were resolved, officials said.

For nearly three years, R Ariputhiran of Pukkiravari village in Kallakurichi was making weekly visits to VAO and tashildhar offices to get a patta for his house, but thanks to the scheme, officials visited his home in January to hand over the patta based on his petition filed six months ago. Similarly, A Chellammal, a fish-cart worker from Ariyamangalam in Tiruchy, received hearing aid just days after she submitted a petition to the CM Special Cell in February 2022. 

During election campaign, Stalin collected petitions from people with an assurance that action would be taken on them within 100 days of government formation. After the DMK came to power, the petitions were handed over to the Mudhalvarin Mugavari Department that also handles petitions received through the Integrated and Inclusive Public Grievance and Chief Minister’s Helpline Management System (IIPGCMS) and the CM Special Cell. Shilpa Prabhakar Satish was appointed as special officer of the department and the CM personally monitors the performance of the department, officials said.

After Covid-19 cases dropped, ministers also started collecting petitions directly from people at taluk-level camps. For instance, of the 78,582 petitions received by ministers at camps held in various taluks in Tiruchy, 45,088 have been resolved. Most petitions pertain to employment, patta, and pension.

Chief Minister MK Stalin,  in Tiruchy on 30 December, 2021, spoke about the importance given by his government to redress public grievances. “I want to create a situation in the State where people do not have the need to submit petitions. We want to gain people’s trust that if petitions are submitted to this government, they would be resolved. That trust would bring in more petitions,” Stalin said. 

Incidentally, Tiruchy Collector S Sivarasu received best performance award from the CM during IAS officers’ conference held in Chennai in March, 2022, for qualitative redressal of grievances under the department.“More than major projects, resolving individual grievances would bring the government closer to people,” an officer said.