People in Kerala and Tamil Nadu may soon have a fast and transparent system for redressal of grievances related to the election process. As Assembly elections in these states are due in May,the Election Commission of India (ECI) is exploring the possibility of implementing there a version of the much-acclaimed public grievance redressal system developed by Jhansi district administration. On an invitation of the ECI,Jhansi District Magistrate Raj Shekhar made a 45-minute presentation of the Jhansi Jan Suvidha Kendra in Delhi. The system was appreciated by ECI officials and technical experts from Tamil Nadu,Kerala,Pondicherry and West Bengal,who had come for a meeting. After the presentation,Director General (Election Expenditure) in ECI PK Das asked Raj Shekhar to submit a project report with a summary of the Jan Suvidha model. Das said Jhansi system would be implemented at the earliest in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The project summery would be sent to the ECI by e-mail by Wednesday morning and the software with certain modifications would be provided by Sunday, Raj Shekhar said. A onetime expenditure of nearly Rs 3.5 lakh would be required for setting up the Kendra in one district. ECI officials said it was a reasonable amount, he said. Raj Shekhar said the complaints would be divided in two categories. The first category would have complaints related to addition or deletion of names or modifications in electoral rolls,and complaints regarding electoral photo identify cards (EPIC). The poll-related complaints,like violation of the code of conduct,malpractices like booth capturing during elections would be in the other category. Sources said after Kerala and Tamil Nadu,the ECI is also planning to implement the model across the country in combination with a web-based online grievance redressal system which is being formulated by Deputy Election Commissioner Dr Alok Shukla. When contacted,Shukla said,Everything is in a very early stage,nothing can be shared right now. Director General (Election Expenditure) PK Das refused to comment on the matter. Under Jhansi Jan Suvidha Kendra system,people can register their grievances through mobile or landline phones from anywhere in the district 24x7. They get a quick response and disposal of the complaint within a deadline. The complainants are regularly informed about the progress of action on their complaints through SMS and phone calls.
