As a tool of upward communication, Nitish Kumar’s practice of redressing public grievances deserves praise (“Patna Durbar”, May 7). However, its effectiveness will depend on the Bihar chief minister’s credibility among the masses, the filtering process to shortlist people who could reach him and the speed of implementing decisions. The Bihar chief minister enjoys good rapport with the masses. As for the screening process, checks should ensure that grave grievances are not screened out to protect erring bureaucrats or politicians.
A major flaw of the redress system is the absence of a follow-up mechanism to ensure the decisions are implemented. Does the chief minister have an action-taken reporting system? Without such a system, the inflow of people coming to his durbar may decline, which could spell lack of trust.
Y G Chouksey, Pune
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