Telangana CM orders expansion of Praja Vani to grassroots level

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Sunday, April 26, directed officials to decentralise the state’s Praja Vani public grievance programme, bringing it down to the Revenue Division level immediately and eventually extending it to mandals, so that citizens from remote areas do not have to travel to Hyderabad or district headquarters to seek redress.

Chairing a meeting with Chief Secretary K Praveen Kumar and CMO officials at MCR HRD Institute, the Chief Minister said officials at every level must be vested with full powers to resolve complaints received through the programme, and that fixed timelines must be set for disposal with no delays permitted.

Revanth Reddy directed that every petition be mandatorily registered, forwarded to the relevant department and tracked, with applicants kept informed of progress. He called for the development of an integrated digital platform for complaint registration, tracking and resolution, with real-time monitoring dashboards at both district and state levels.

Nodal officers at every level: CM

The Chief Minister ordered the appointment of dedicated nodal officers for Praja Vani at every level and the creation of special Praja Vani cells in every district and department. He also directed the implementation of an auto-escalation mechanism, under which unresolved petitions automatically move up to higher authorities, with an appeal system to be introduced if needed.

Revanth Reddy warned that laxity in complaint resolution would not be tolerated and that officials responsible for delays would be held accountable. He said pending complaints must receive special attention and that regular reviews would be held at both district and state levels.

Launched on December 8, 2023, the day after the current Congress government assumed office, Praja Vani currently functions every Tuesday and Friday at Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Praja Bhavan in Hyderabad, where officials from all departments receive and act on public petitions. District-level sessions are also held weekly under the supervision of Collectors.

With the proposed expansion, the Chief Minister said the volume of pending petitions at higher levels would reduce significantly, as many grievances could be resolved locally.