FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON GRIEVANCE REDRESS MECHANISM IN

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND THE ROLE OF DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE

REFORMS AND PUBLIC GRIEVANCES, NEW DELHI, THEREIN

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Question Response

1 What is the postal address of the

Department of Administrative Reforms

and Public Grievances?

Department of Administrative Reforms and Public

Grievances, 5th floor, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad

Marg, New Delhi – 110001.

Website: www.darpg.gov.in

Tele fax – 23741006

2. What is the organization structure of

grievance redress in Government of

India?

The organization structure comprises of the following

nodal agencies for receiving grievances from the

citizens :

a) The Department of Administrative Reforms

and Public Grievances.(DAR&PG)

(http://pgportal.gov.in)

b) The Public Wing in Rashtrapati Bhawan

Secretariat. (http://helpline.rb.nic.in)

c) The Public Wing in the Prime Minister’s

Office.

d) The Directorate of Public Grievances in

Cabinet Secretariat. (DPG) (http://dpg.gov.in)

e) The Department of Pensions and Pensioners’

Welfare.(DP&PW)

(http://pgportal.gov.in/pension/)

All the above nodal agencies receive grievances online

through http://pgportal.gov.in as well as by post or by

hand in person, from the public.

The grievances received online in the Public Wing of

Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Prime Minister’s Office and

the DP&PW, also get converged in the

http://pgportal.gov.in

(For details please refer to Chapter 1 of the bilingual

‘Compilation of Guidelines for Redress of Public

Grievances, August 2010’, accessible on Public

Grievance portal as above and under ‘Rules and

Manuals’ on www.darpg.gov.in)

3. What is the mandate of the DAR&PG

with regard to grievances?

As per ‘Allocation of Business Rules 1961’, the

following work on grievances is allocated to

DAR&PG:-

1. Policy, coordination and monitoring of issues

relating to –

(a) Redress of public grievances in general;

and

(b) Grievances pertaining to Central

Government agencies

4. What are the requirements for sending

of grievances by post?

In cases where internet facility is not available or

even otherwise, the citizen is free to send his grievance

by Post. For this, no form is prescribed.

The grievance may be written on any plain sheet of

paper or on a Postcard / Inland letter and addressed to

the Department.

5. After redress, can the grievance be reopened

for further correspondence

about it having been closed without

details etc.?

No. In such situations, the citizen will have to

lodge a fresh grievance drawing reference to the closed

grievance, and call for details.

Sometimes, the details are sent by post and

mentioned in the final report. The postal delivery may

be awaited before lodging a fresh grievance.

6. What is the common framework for

grievance redress in all Central

Ministries / Departments/

Framework for redress of grievances in all Central

Ministries / Departments / Organizations:

Every Central Ministry / Department has designated

Organizations? a Joint Secretary or a Director / Deputy Secretary, as its

‘Director of Grievances’. He / She is the nodal officer

for redress of grievances on work areas allocated to that

particular Ministry / Department.

7. What are the contact details of the

Nodal Officers of Public Grievances in

|Ministries/Department?

This list is accessible through- out the year on the

Department’s website at www.darpg.nic.in and at

www.pgportal.gov.in

8. When was pg portal started? Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring

System (CPGRAMS) is operational since 1/6/2007.

9. What is the purpose and objectives of

pgportal?

Pgportal is an online system for facilitating citizen for

lodging of grievances from anywhere, anytime 24x7.

The system enables Ministries/Departments close

monitoring of the grievances received for expeditious

disposal and upload Action Taken Report. The citizens

can view the status of action taken. There is also a

feedback mechanism for satisfaction rating by the

complainant of the action taken which may lead to

further improvements.

10. What type of Public Grievances are

heard by the Department?

The grievances from public as well as from officers

and staff received by the Department. These

grievances may relate to deficiency in delivery of

goods and/ or services by any Government

organization, including service and personnel matters.

10 A What is the system of granting

personal hearing on grievances.

Forenoon of every Wednesday of the week has been

earmarked for receiving and hearing of grievances by

the Director of Public Grievances in person.

11. What are the type of grievances which

are not taken up for redress by the

department?

(a). Subjudice cases or any matter concerning judgment

given by any court.

(b). Personal and family disputes.

(c). RTI matters.

12. What is the role of Department of

Administrative Reforms and Public

Grievances (DARPG) with reference

to the grievances concerning Central

Ministries/Departments/

Organizations?

The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public

Grievances is the chief policy making, monitoring and

coordinating Department for public grievances arising

from the work of Ministries/Departments/Organizations

of the Government of India. The grievances received in

the department are forwarded to the

Ministries/Departments concerned. Redressal of

grievances is done by respective

Ministries/Departments in a decentralized manner. The

Department periodically reviews the status of redressal

of public grievances under CPGRAMS of

Ministries/Departments for speedy disposal of

grievances / complaints.

13. What is the role of Department of

Administrative Reforms and Public

Grievances (DARPG) with reference

to the grievances concerning State

Government?

All grievances relating to State Governments / Union

Territory Administrations and Government of NCT

Region of Delhi, are to be redressed by the State/ UT/

NCT Government concerned.

Citizens are advised to take up matter regarding

pendency of their grievances directly with the State

Government concerned. In view of federal principle of

governance enshrined in the Constitution of India no

monitoring is done by the DARPG.

14. What procedures are used by DARPG

to inform the aggrieved citizen?

On successful lodging of a grievance an

acknowledgment is auto generated on the online

system. A grievance received by post is acknowledged

within three days of the receipt. A grievance received

by hand is acknowledged at the same time.

After careful scrutiny, the grievances received in the

Department of Administrative Reforms and Public

Grievances are forwarded to the Ministries/

Departments/Organizations/State Governments/ UTs

concerned for appropriate action. The complainant is

also informed about the name and address of the officer

and the organization to whom the complaint has been

forwarded for action.

15. What is the time limit for redress of

grievance?

60 days as per Guidelines. In case of delay an interim

reply with reasons for delay is required to be given.

However, this time limit is not mandatory as the

grievance redress mechanism is voluntary in nature.

16. What action can be taken by the citizen

in case of non-redress of his grievance

within the prescribed time?

He may take up the matter with the Director of Public

Grievances of the Ministry/Department concerned

whose details are available on the pgportal.

17. In case of non-redress of a grievance

within the stipulated time of 60 days,

what action can be taken against the

officer concerned?

No penal provisions have been prescribed in the

Guidelines relating to redress of public grievances.

However, in case of any dereliction of duty it is the

responsibility of the Ministry/Department concerned, to

take disciplinary action against the erring official.