Special officer from Tamil Nadu CM cell to visit R K Nagar once a week

Chennai: People in high-profile R K Nagar, the constituency of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, will now be able to hand over petitions relating to problems in their area to a special officer from the Chief Minister’s cell every Tuesday.

Ms Jayalalithaa said the special officer would visit the Tondiarpet taluk office in the constituency every Tuesday to receive petitions from people. “I have instructed a special officer from the CM’s special cell to visit the Tondiarpet taluk office every Tuesday and collect petitions from people by staying put there the whole day,” the Chief Minister said in a statement.

Once the petitions reaches the Chief Minister, appropriate action will be taken, Ms Jayalalithaa said, adding that she is adopting the method to get to know the problems of people of her constituency.

The Chief Minister won the R K Nagar seat in the May 16 Assembly elections by a margin of about 40,000 votes defeating the DMK candidate. This is the second time that Ms Jayalalithaa contested from R K Nagar in north Chennai.

She had also toured the entire constituency on June 6 to thank voters for electing her as an MLA. Political observers said the move is aimed at ensuring faster redressal of grievances related to the Chief Minister’s constituency. In the statement, the Chief Minister also outlined the grievance redressal mechanisms already in place.

“The government has also launched schemes like Amma call centres to ensure quick response to people’s problems. In addition to such initiatives, there are over 10,000 e-service centres, which assist people to access government services in a hassle-free manner,” she said.