UP babus sit on files despite CM's order

Disposal rate during Mayawati regime was better than in Akhilesh govt

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav may be trying hard to ensure quick redressal of peoples’ grievances through ‘janata darshan’, but his efforts are being nipped in the bud by his own officials.

A Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed that the disposal rate of chief minister’s references to various government departments was a dismal 4.18 per cent indicating that the officials were sitting on Akhilesh’s references.

The query, filed by Lucknow based social activist Urvashi Sharma, showed that the disposal rate of the chief minister’s references was much higher during the previous Mayawati regime.

The data reveal that clearance rate of the CM’s references between May 13, 2007 and November 17, 2009 during Mayawati’s regime was almost 61 per cent. Over 48,000 out of 78,000 references were disposed, the query reveals.

In sharp contrast, the clearance rate of Akhilesh’s references between March 15, 20012 and October 3, 20012 stands at a meagre 4.18 per cent. The officials disposed only 3,964 of 94,773 references sent to them, according to the data.

“If this is the fate of CM’s references, the fate of common man’s applications can very well be imagined,” said Sharma. “If this is to be taken as indicators, the data reflect that bureaucracy of UP was 14.58 times better managed by Mayawati when compared to Akhilesh Yadav,” the social activist added.

Ironically Akhilesh went hi-tech to ensure speedy redressal of grievances as the crowd continued to swell at the programmes indicating ‘inaction’ of the officials at the district levels.

Every applicant is now given a ‘bar coded’ computerised receipt so that it is not lost in the sea of applications. The applicant himself can find out the action taken on his grievances even from his home districts. The details of the application will also be uploaded on the government’s official website.

Many people complain that no action had been taken on their applications though they had been attending the ‘janata darshan’ for the fourth or fifth time.

“A majority of problems are petty in nature and may be easily resolved at local levels. Yet people spend so much money and time to come to Lucknow. It happens only because the district officials do not perform their duty honestly,” the officials admit.

But the problems remain unresolved despite the chief minister’s references.