Public Grievance

In essence, a grievance is a formal complaint or statement of dissatisfaction. It usually occurs when a person or group believes they have been mistreated, unjustly, or unequally. A public grievance in the context of public administration primarily refers to complaints made against officials or agencies of the government. A government's grievance redressal mechanism is a crucial component. It is only possible for the government and its administration to be successful and responsible with adequate grievance redressal systems.
In a democracy, the people elect their leaders and hold them responsible.
A few of the public complaints against the government could be related to food scarcity, crammed public transportation, delayed train schedules, unfair public policies and schemes etc.

Types Of Public Grievance

• Grievances against policies:
  1. Citizens may have grievances against the policies of the government, which may affect a large group of people.
  2. The legislature and media both voice these complaints.
• Grievances due to maladministration:
  1. These kinds of complaints occur when the administration fails to carry out government policies in an effective manner because of a variety of problems, such as a lack of coordination between the various government departments or organs in charge of implementation, or because officials are not working efficiently because of a heavy workload.
  2. Policies that are made by government most of the times do not positively impact or help the lower strata of the society due to which large part of the population doesn't get the chance of development and they raise complaints against the policies of the government.
• Grievances due to Corruption:
  1. Corruption is a dishonest behaviour by those in positions of power that starts with the tendency of using the public offices for some personal benefits. This leads to uneven distribution of wealth as the money given to the officials is for public benefit and the policies do not reach out to them. It affects vulnerable the most, increasing costs and reducing the basic facilities such as health, transportation etc to them the most.
• Grievances in Rural Areas:
  1. Major of the India's population still resides in the villages and the policies of the government do not reach there due to which many problems and grievances are faced by the people. The grievances faced by them are mentioned below:
     • Lack of education and unemployment
     • Lack of medical facilities
     • Lack of proper infrastructure and transportation
  2. These grievances of the rural people further lead to increase in juvenile delinquency and thus there is an increased rate of crime in the villages and the cities further worsening their conditions.

Public Grievance In Judicial System

Judiciary is considered as the third pillar of the democracy and is responsible for providing justice and safeguarding the rights of its citizens but people in the country face problems regarding the working of the judiciary that further elevates the problems and grievances of the people.

• Pending cases: The Indian judiciary is burdened with a lot of cases that remain unsolved for long periods of decades. Reasons for this include inefficient working of the court and lack of evidence in many cases, leading to long trials.
• Nepotism: Many appointed magistrates and judges are not selected according to the prescribed procedure but rather due to legal hierarchy in their family and the system. This creates disappointment among legal aspirants and professionals who have passed examinations based on merit, leading to injustice for citizens.
• Lack of Transparency: Accountability and transparency are essential for good governance and administration. The Indian judiciary has failed in this regard and is criticized for it. For instance, the Supreme Court has ruled that reasons for appointing public relation officers must be disclosed, yet there is no public access to the appointment of judges or other information such as evidence and allegations in many major cases.
• Corruption: Due to the lack of transparency and accountability, the judiciary is vulnerable to undue influence from big leaders, which can lead to bribery and erode public confidence in the institution.

Redressal Mechanisms

• Department of Justice: Receives complaints through the President's Secretariat or directly from citizens online or by post. It deals with grievances related to the appointment of judges of high courts or the Supreme Court, legal assistance, awareness, e-courts, and judicial reforms.
• Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance (DARPG): Plans and implements citizen-centric measures in public grievances and carries out administrative reforms to deliver quality public services. Grievances are forwarded to respective ministries, departments, and state governments and followed until closure.
• Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG): Established in the Cabinet Secretariat in 1988, handles complaints related to 16 central governmental organizations.
• Ombudsman: An officer appointed by the legislature to handle complaints and issues regarding service or administrative authorities. Ombudsmen are appointed in sectors such as Income Tax and Banking Insurance in India.
• Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System: An online platform started by the Government of India available 24/7 for citizens to lodge grievances related to service delivery. It provides access to every ministry and department under the governments of the States and India.

Apart from the aforesaid machineries the government and other organs of the government have also developed grievance redressal mechanism systems like E- Nivaran, UMANG scheme, MyGov portal and INGRAM portal and many other schemes and portals have been established to mitigate the problems faced the citizens of our nation.

Case Laws Related To Public Grievances:

1. Air India Vs Nargesh Meerza: It was a landmark case in the legal history that was based on discriminatory policies based on gender norms. In this case that was filed, Nargesh Meerza and other female flight attendants were forced to resign from their jobs once they were married, which didn't apply to male attendants. This case raised questions about Articles 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution and the discriminatory policies that were used by AIR INDIA. The Supreme Court of India struck down these policies and called them arbitrary and unconstitutional, establishing that policies discriminating based on sex violated fundamental rights. By striking down these policies, the Supreme Court affirmed constitutional protection against gender discrimination in the workplace. This judgement set an important precedent in Indian law upholding gender equality.
    
2. MC Mehta Vs State of Tamil Nadu: It was a landmark judgement given by the Supreme Court of India where it gave directions to end child labour and said that "No Child below the age of 14 years shall be employed to work in any hazardous employment like mines or any fireworks factories." The court also issued directives to ensure the rehabilitation of those children and enforce stringent legal measures. The court also held that this case violated Article 24 of the Indian Constitution, where it explicitly prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years in any hazardous industries.
    
3. Hussainara Khatoon Vs State of Bihar:This case brought to light the predicament of Bihar's undertrial inmates. Many of the prisoners were detained for long periods, far longer than the maximum sentence they could have received if convicted of their alleged offenses. The case exposed the violation of their constitutional right to a speedy trial under Article 21 and highlighted the importance of timely justice.

The court directed the prisoners for release as their continued detention was illegal and violative of Article of 21 of the constitution and held that right to free legal services is also an essential component of a reasonable, fair and just procedure for a person accused of an offense and this right is implicit in the guarantee provided by Article 21. Further this case broadened the scope of Article 21, ensuring that the right to life and personal liberty also encompasses the right to fair and a speedy trial.

Conclusion
In today's modern world public grievance still stands as the major issue in the development of the country. Public Grievance can be said as a feeling of mass dissatisfaction of the citizens which can be due to government policies and administration etc. In the dynamic world and with the onset of the cyber era there has been a lot improved by the government. There has been establishment of E-courts and many other online systems and portals through which an individual could lodge their complaints and grievances.

Through the introduction of e- courts the judicial has become more accessible to everyone. Fast tracks courts have also been established to provide speedy justice to the one in need. These establishments have lessened the burden of the court to some extent. Online portals such as CPGRAMS, E- NIVARAN etc have been formed to resolve the grievances and problems of the people as they provide service to their users 24/7.

Further we can see the introduction of many schemes by the government to accelerate growth in the country and elevate the vulnerable and lower section of the society. Schemes like MGNREGA, PMGSY etc have been started.

So, at last we can say that Citizens care and development should be the topmost priority of the government which could be done through implementation of the policies that could reach the lower section of the society. However there has been a lot done but still there is a long road to go which can be done through public awareness and other aiding methods by the government to solve public grievances and develop the nation.