Speaking at a meeting of Regional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Executive Officers of Zilla Panchayats, Gowda said arrangements will also be made to receive complaints online at the cell. The move is a precursor for setting up of State-wide Attention on Grievances by Application of Technology (Swagat) network in the State, official sources said.
Under the project, the chief minister along with department heads will address the grievances of the common man on a regular basis through video conferencing and solutions are provided online immediately. The project, which has already been a huge success in Gujarat, will be implemented in the State soon, the sources added.
Gowda said Bihar’s unique attempt to accept Right to Information (RTI) applications through phone calls will be replicated in the State. The State government will set up a business process outsourcing centre to handle all applications, enquiries and billing. Karnataka will be the second state to implement such an initiative, following Bihar which introduced ‘Jankaari’ in 2007.
Gowda said the process of bringing citizen charters of various government agencies will be initiated soon. At the day-long meeting, the functioning of Nemmadi Kendras set up at all hobli centres to provide quick and cost-effective services using technology came in for criticism.
The chief minister is learnt to have pulled up officials for the non-functioning of these kendras, wherein citizens were supposed to get a range of services-- pahani, caste, income, residence, birth and death certificates and old age pension.
The functioning of housing department especially the implementation of the Ashraya scheme, was reviewed threadbare, sources added.