Siddaramaiah pulls up secretaries overdelayed grievance redressal

Bengaluru: Over 1,800 delayed public grievances have come under scrutiny, with chief minister Siddaramaiah Saturday warning that slow response is hurting citizens and eroding their trust in govt services.At a meeting of additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries and secretaries at Vidhana Soudha, he said over 3.2 lakh petitions were filed under the Integrated Public Grievance Redressal System (IPGRS), but delays in disposal are unacceptable. "If grievances are not addressed on time, people lose faith in the govt. This must not happen," he said, directing strict adherence to timelines, including under Sakala.He linked delays in complaints to broader governance gaps. Fifteen promises from last year's budget remain pending, while only five orders have been issued for the 2026-27 budget, with 565 announcements. "All budget announcements must be implemented within the same year without fail," he said, adding that all govt orders must be issued by May and implementation should begin immediately.On jobs, he said approval has been given to fill 24,300 posts, but vacancies continue to affect services, with over 32,000 posts in Kalyana Karnataka yet to see recruitment. Pending cadre and recruitment rules must be finalised quickly, he added.Reviewing funds, he said Rs 38,236 crore has been spent out of Rs 42,222 crore available under centrally sponsored schemes and stressed timely utilisation. He also flagged Rs 11,367 crore pending from the Centre, and warned against bypassing reservation for SC and ST contractors or delaying projects that increase costs.Siddaramaiah held the meeting a day after AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge said the CM would continue for now, signalling that he is in full command, and stressed accountability and transparency. Quoting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the CM said, "Secretaries must fearlessly and independently convey their opinions to ministers and should not hesitate to speak the truth, fearing displeasure.""Officials should not engage in appeasement of politicians, as it leads to authoritarianism," he said, adding that governance quality depends on how efficiently services reach citizens.——-BoxInstructions to ensure water supplyCM Siddaramaiah said Saturday that there is a possibility of a 5% shortfall in rain this year and asked officials to ensure that the drinking water supply is not affected. "District in-charge secretaries should constantly monitor the drinking water situation. Meetings should be held with deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat chief executive officers in this regard," Siddaramaiah said."It is the responsibility of the respective secretaries to resolve the problems of the districts under their jurisdiction. Drinking water supply should not be affected for any reason," he added.
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