Karnataka Praja Seva Ministry Public Grievance Redressal Dk Shivakumar

The new ministry will be focused on an “integrated grievance management, time-bound resolution of public issues, process simplification, citizen feedback and the adoption of best practices to improve governance and service delivery across departments”, the government said in a statement.

“A new ‘public service department’ is being started to listen to the grievances and demands of the public. A separate minister will be given responsibility for this,” CM Shivakumar said after a Cabinet meeting over the weekend.

“Our government’s goal is to understand the hardships of the people and respond within the legal framework. Therefore, a senior IAS officer will be appointed to this department. He will review all the problems and provide information. Through this, the government is taking steps to provide justice to the people. It is planned to bring the petitions given to me and other ministers under this department,” Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar said that state ministers in charge of districts will hold public meetings with local MLAs every week in the Assembly constituencies of their districts, under the aegis of the new Praja Seva ministry, to review the status of government programmes at the local level.

“The welfare of the people is important to us. People’s problems will be solved using all resources available to us,” Shivakumar said.

“The Department of E-Governance will extend all necessary technical support to this important initiative, including the development of Integrated Public Grievance Redressal System (iPGRS) 2.0 and other digital systems required for its effective implementation. Strengthening people-centric governance through better use of technology and responsive institutions remains a key priority for our government,” Kharge said.