Kejriwal, Cabinet colleagues to meet people for 1 hour on weekdays

Ananya Panda

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 24

Realising the “disenchantment” of  people with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his Cabinet ministers and officers have decided to meet people “without appointment” at their offices from 10 am to 11 am from Monday to Friday.

Admitting that the government is losing connect with the people, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the chief minister has directed the chief secretary to ensure that all officers barring those having field duties will meet people without appointments to address their grievances.

“Public disconnect with governance is coming to fore. People want to meet ministers and officers. Ministers had been meeting earlier too but henceforth all ministers and officers, excluding those on field, will meet residents without prior fixed meetings,” said Sisodia addressing the media here.

In a notice issued, Kejriwal said, he has come across complaints from people that officers are not “easily accessible” so they shall be “present on their seats between 10 am to 11 am and meet people without appointments and solve their grievances”.

The chief secretary has also been directed to issue a phone number for residents to complain in case any officer is unavailable during the stipulated time.

“No excuses will be acceptable and any exemption will be granted only in case of medical leave or otherwise. Officer has to seek permission over phone from his senior who in turn shall inform the minister,” said the deputy chief minister.

Further, Sisodia said orders have also been issued to ensure no in-house meetings are scheduled by ministers or senior officers during that time to enable field officials, like SDM or zonal officials, to attend to the grievances of people in the national capital.

Noting that if field officials meet people most of the problems are resolved, Sisodia added that orders have been issued and the move is likely to be implemented from June 1 after arrangements are put in place.

The decision comes close on the heels of successive jolts for the AAP in the recently held elections in Delhi, Punjab and Goa and serious allegations of “money laundering” against Kejriwal and his colleagues by rebel leader Kapil Mishra.

This is not for the first time the party has undertaken such an exercise as Kejriwal had initiated such attempts to reach out to people through ‘Janata Darbar’ during its first stint in 2014 and later in 2015 when the AAP had scored a landslide victory pocketing 67 out of 70 Delhi Assembly seats.

In 2014 the first public meeting held by the Delhi Chief Minister at Delhi Secretariat was chaotic and poorly managed with a huge rush of people at the site.

“Earlier we experimented with ‘Janata Darbar’— wherein our ministers use to sit at a place and listen to people. But this time we have decentralised the process reducing the chances of rush. People with go to the concerned office instead of gathering at one place,” Sisodia said.