"After 16 years, the chief minister's grievance cell was opened to the public."
In a significant move towards public engagement, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday revived public grievance hearings after a hiatus of 16 years.
Charan Majhi personally listened to the grievances of people, issuing necessary instructions to officials concerned.
"After 16 years, the chief minister's grievance cell was opened to the public. Former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had visited the cell for the last time in 2008. People can directly come and apprise me of their problems," Mr Majhi said in a post on X.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), more than 5,000 people visited the grievance cell, and 1,540 grievances were registered during the day.
The Chief Minister, along with Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo and Ministers Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, Pradeep Balasamanta, and Krushna Chandra Mahapatra, heard grievances from more than 1,000 people.
Speaking to reporters, Majhi said his government prioritises listening to public issues and addressing them. Therefore, the new government has resumed the public grievance hearing programme in all 30 districts and at the state level, he added.
"An iron wall had been erected between the government and the public during the tenure of the previous government. The wall has been removed, and the Chief Minister's grievance cell resumed its function today," he said.
Now, people can apprise the government of their various problems for speedy resolution. Senior officers and district collectors have been directed to hear the grievances of people, the CM said.
Majhi advised the public to first approach the authorities at the district level with their problems for quick redressal. He expressed hope that there would be fewer complaints at the state level in the coming days as most public grievances would be resolved at the district level.
The CM informed that action has so far been initiated on around 99 per cent of the grievances received on the first day of the programme.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)