Another complaint cell, another eyewash!

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, June 24: At the fag-end of its third consecutive term, the Congress-led Assam government has opened yet another public complaint cell for redressal of public grievances.

The new cell was opened a week back at the Ga Bhavan inside the Secretariat complex.

Personnel manning the cell issue computerized acknowledgements to people who submit complaints. It is claimed that the complaints are then forwarded to the respective departments.

“Once the responses are received, they are communicated to the complaint,” the sources claimed.

However, not many are excited at the step. For this is not the first time such a cell has been set up.

In its second term, the Congress government had set up a similar cell, but it vanished after a few months. There were allegations that no follow-up action was taken over complaints submitted.

Two years back, a public grievances cell was also set up at the CM’s office, but that too turned out to be a dud, with allegations that there was little follow-up of complaints.

“If the State government is so serious about public grievances, why doesn’t it open complaint cells at the DC’s offices in each district? Will a person come all the way to the Secretariat in Dispur to lodge a complaint? How many of the complaints have actually got their problems redressed?” questioned a layman, who felt such moves by the Tarun Gogoi government were just an eyewash.