The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has strengthened the Smart Sarathi Grievance Redressal System by introducing a facility for citizens to reopen complaints if they feel their complaints have been closed without resolution, the civic body announced on Thursday. It also said it has introduced a comprehensive feedback mechanism.
“Any complaint closed without agreement will be forcefully reopened through the system until properly addressed by the administration. Besides, the complainants will get a feedback call to ensure that they are satisfied with the resolution,” Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh said, expressing concern over the practice of closing complaints without resolution.
Launched as part of PCMC’s e-Governance initiatives, Smart Saathi serves as a centralized platform for complaints, tracking resolution and improving citizen engagement.
From November 1 to December 9, PCMC resolved 8,076 complaints through Smart Sarathi. Responses were collected for 5,349 of these complaints. The results showed that 63 percent of the complainants were satisfied with the decision, while 8 percent expressed dissatisfaction. Among the dissatisfied, 2 percent said their complaints were closed without any action being taken. According to officials, 29 percent of complainants did not respond to feedback requests.
Emphasizing the importance of departmental accountability, Singh said, “The feedback mechanism under Smart Sarathi is an important step towards making governance more transparent and accountable. Heads of Departments should ensure timely and effective resolution of grievances. Strict action will be taken against such negligent persons including suspension and initiation of departmental investigation. Accountability is inconsistent, and citizens’ concerns must be prioritized.”
Reopened complaints are automatically escalated to senior officials to ensure appropriate action, according to the PCMC.
Pattern based action through complaint analysis
The PCMC has also initiated a broad pattern analysis of complaints to identify root causes and systemic problems in specific areas. By analyzing why certain areas receive more complaints, the corporation aims to implement proactive, large-scale solutions rather than addressing issues on a case-by-case basis. Officials said this data-driven approach would help address recurring issues and improve overall service delivery.
According to the administration, strict action will be taken against the erring employees including suspension and departmental inquiry.
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