Audit report raps Chandigarh civic body for not maintaining public complaint record

The audit report 2022-2024 has rapped the Municipal Corporation for not maintaining the record of public grievances and their disposal.

The audit, conducted by the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, Chandigarh, says the engineering wing of the MC is responsible for addressing complaints and requests received from the general public through the civic body’s online portal, email or by post.

These complaints are forwarded to the relevant wings — horticulture, public health, building and roads and electrical — of the MC with the request for an action-taken report (ATR) to be submitted at the earliest.

A test-check of the records maintained by the Chief Engineer Office for the period under audit has revealed that no comprehensive data of complaints received and disposed of was maintained.

The report further says that in the absence of such data, it is not possible to ascertain the total number of complaints received, pending resolution or not forwarded to the respective departments.

Additionally, no control register or systematic tracking mechanism was maintained to monitor the resolution of complaints. On being pointed out during the audit, no reply was furnished by the department concerned, the report adds.

The record related to the inventory of fixed assets of MC has not been maintained so far, which is in contravention of rules. As per General Financial Rules 2017, separate accounts shall be kept for fixed assets such as plant, machinery, equipment, furniture, fixtures, etc.

On being pointed out, the engineering wing stated that the detailed reply would be submitted after verifying the records in due course of time, but final action was awaited in the audit.

A social activist, RK Garg, said it was the duty of the MC to solve the residents’ problems at the earliest. They are paying property tax, parking fee and other levies. They approach the MC for the resolution of their complaints. As the civic body has failed to maintain the record of such grievances, the Mayor as well as the Commissioner must look into the matter. In order to maintain transparency, the MC must put all details of complaints and their disposal on its official website.

Garg said while the civic body did care about maintaining the record of those who failed to pay their taxes, it made no efforts to maintain the data of public complaints.