Karnataka government reserves Janaspandana helpline for complaints

The government has decided to keep its flagship 1902 Janaspandana helpline only for the purpose of receiving complaints on schemes and services, while all other calls seeking information will be routed to the respective departments.

This has been specified in a circular issued by the government after discovering that the functions of the 1902 helpline is overlapping with those being operated by individual departments.

The integrated public grievance redressal system (IPGRS), known as Janaspandana, is positioned as a one-stop-shop for citizens to raise complaints on any government scheme or service by dialling 1902. The helpline became operational in September 2021.

“So far, the IPGRS has received over 8,000 complaints from citizens on government schemes and services. The government has observed, based on the interaction taking place at the IPGRS call centre, that citizens are calling 1902 to seek information on various schemes and services. And, there are already helplines operated by the respective departments to provide information to citizens,” the e-Governance department said in its circular.

“When citizens call asking to know more on various schemes and services, it is necessary to have clear information. Since all staff working in 1902 do not have complete information on schemes and services, calls that are received from citizens seeking such details should be routed to the helplines run by the respective departments,” the circular said.

Likewise, when citizens reach out to the respective departments to file a complaint, their calls should be routed to the 1902 helpline.

This will not only streamline the functioning of 1902, but also make sure there is no duplication of work, the e-Governance department said.

First announced in July 2018, the IPGRS covers 600 schemes and services provided by the government.

Each grievance raised by a citizen is mapped to a specific last mile functionary (LMF) of the respective department for that particular scheme or service.

Higher officers

Also, if the citizen is unhappy with the resolution, then two levels of officers will examine the grievance and resolve it within a timeframe.

Most complaints pertain to schemes and services of the Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) and Revenue departments. Nearly 15% of grievances, the highest, are from Bengaluru Urban.

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