2 of 10 complaints not heard

Chennai: At least two of every 10 complaints registered with the Chennai corporation helpline 1913 are closed by the corporation staff informing the headquarters that the complaints have been addr­essed.

Deccan Chronicle made a few complaints to the helpline and found that corporation personnel follow such errant practice. A complaint was lodged to the helpline in the first week of December regarding removal of an avenue tree posing danger to a bu­ilding compound wall in Peravallur. The corporation field personnel after th­ree days have informed the headoffice that the com­plaint has been add­ressed even without visiting the spot.

Similarly to another co­mplaint related to faulty streetlight in Choolai lo­d­ged by civic activist Aa­rani Sreenivasan, there was no response from the civic body. And again on Tuesday another fresh complaint was lodged to address the issue.

“The helpline staff rec­ord the complaint and pro­mise action, but in re­ality the issue is not attended or delayed,” said Sree­ni­vasan. Meanwhile, the top brass of the corporation have reiterated the field officials to address the civic woes at the earliest. The commissioner had also instructed the officials to return all calls from public to win public confidence.

It may be noted that the corporation helpline 1913 was recently provided mo­re men and machinery for effective addressal of civic woes from residents, but the lack of coordination from the field officials co­n­tinues to haunt the Che­nnai corporation.

Next: Chief Minister’s Special cell hassle free

Chief Minister’s Special cell hassle free'

Chennai: Deccan Chronicle lodged a complaint to the chief minister's special cell through online portal and found that the process was hassle free.

To a complaint on petrol theft in interior roads of central Chennai, there were some action from city police and local police have intensified night pa­trol to prevent thefts.

Responding to the complaint, the local police station (Vepery) assigned a sub inspector to observe the scenario for about a week and was asked to interact with local residents and provide the feedback.

Another advantage with the CM cell is that the complainants can track the status of their complaints and trace the whereabouts of their grievance petition.

“Any person can send his or her complaint directly to the chief minister’s cell and instant acknowledgement is sent through short message service to the complainant’s mobile. A similar system should be evolved by other government helpline,” said John Domnic, a software engineer.

“The complaints received through the CM cell website are usually forwarded to the department concerned and the details are also be sent to complainants. We are allowed to close the complainant only after obtaining the feedback from the complainant,” said a sub inspector attached to Central Chennai.