Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], June 11 : In a major citizen-centric initiative aimed at ensuring the timely resolution of representations and complaints at the local level, Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) G.S. Malik on Thursday issued an office order mandating all police officers across Gujarat to devote two hours daily to public grievance hearings.
The primary objective of the directive is to make policing more citizen-centric and establish a strong mechanism whereby citizens do not have to travel all the way to Gandhinagar, the DGP Office, or the Secretariat to seek redressal of their grievances or obtain justice.
Under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Shri Harsh Sanghavi, the Gujarat Police has adopted a citizen-centric approach, with a strong emphasis on the timely resolution of public grievances at the local level.
As per the order, all senior police officers, as well as police station-level officers across the state, have been directed to mandatorily allocate two hours every day to hear public grievances at the local level.
As per the new arrangement, all senior police officers, including Police Commissioners, Joint, Additional, Deputy and Assistant Police Commissioners, and Superintendents of Police, must remain present in their offices every day from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. to meet citizens, hear their grievances, and initiate necessary legal action on written applications.
In unavoidable circumstances where the concerned officer is unable to remain present, the senior-most officer or the office reader shall receive and hear representations from applicants and place them before the concerned officer on priority so that citizens are not forced to return without submitting their grievances.
Recognising that Police Inspectors are generally occupied during morning hours with court duties, investigations, and affidavit-related work, a separate public hearing schedule has been prescribed for them.
All Police Inspectors in charge of police stations have been directed to remain available at their respective police stations every day from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to meet visitors in person.
They are required to patiently hear citizens' grievances, accept written applications, and initiate prompt legal action so that ordinary citizens do not have to approach higher offices for resolution of their issues.
The order also prescribes strict timelines for the disposal of applications. Complaints relating to economic offences, matrimonial and family disputes, medical negligence, and allegations of corruption must be disposed of within six weeks, while all other general complaints must be resolved within a maximum of 15 days.
To ensure administrative transparency, all police offices have been instructed to maintain a dedicated register recording details of every citizen who approaches them with a representation or complaint. The order further states that if, during preliminary inquiry, any cognizable offence is found to have been committed, an FIR must be registered immediately and legal proceedings initiated without delay.
The state police chief, G S Malik, has placed special emphasis on ensuring that every complaint is examined impartially and fairly. He has issued strict instructions to all police officers across the state to comply with these directions in letter and spirit.