With India going digital, the administrators of the country have also started addressing the issues of common people with new-age techniques in the digital platforms. One such proactive administrator is Guntur District Collector, Mr. Vivek Yadav. In this district of Andhra Pradesh, the administration has already started tapping the enormous reach of social media for resolving the grievances of people.
A brainchild of the district collector himself, the initiative consists of a team of four young professionals who browses different social media platforms daily to search for tagged or untagged queries or grievances in which district administration can play a constructive role.
In an exclusive interview to Indian Masterminds, District Collector Vivek Yadav explained the initiative in detail and, also, revealed where he got the idea from.
A TEAM OF FOUR PROFESSIONALS
Explaining the initiative, Mr. Vivek Yadav said, “Our aim is to create an enduring method to ensure that the grievances are effectively followed up. We have devised the programme after talking to various stakeholders. The current system bears some resemblance to an idea I got while reading an article of the Harvard Business Review.”
The team browses across social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. daily to search for any tagged or untagged queries or grievances which the district administration can take up. It leverages the free and commonly used survey administration software, Google Forms, which is given out to the public. The cell stays in contact with the relevant line department/subordinate offices through calls and letters until the problem is resolved.
Earlier it was difficult for people to connect directly with the higher authorities. However, with the launching of this social media initiative, the administration itself connects to the people for redressal of their grievances.
“The unique feature of the initiative is that it was conceptualized and started at speed without requirement of any major financial investment or infrastructure, showing efficiency of the administration. Further, it also provides direct feedback regarding governance to the district administration and sends a signal of intent to every government functionary in the district. The cell also provides department-wise and week-wise analysis to allow evidence-based decision making,” said Mr. Vivek Yadav.
ENCOURAGING RESULTS
The initiative which was launched around five months back had already recorded 177 complaints till the first week of November, out of which 80 complaints have been addressed. The remaining complaints have been communicated to the concerned district offices/line departments for expedited action.
The use of social media to reach out to people in distress and help them has already received appreciation from all quarters with many complainants showing satisfaction, as seen on tweets in the official Twitter account of the District Collector. Going forward, the cell aims at institutionalising feedback mechanisms from the complainants and other stakeholders to widen its ambit and introduce further innovations for faster service delivery.
