Sore point

The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, which monitors the redressal of grievances by Central ministries, departments and state governments, has come out with interesting statistics. It says Uttar Pradesh leads the pack when it comes to delays in clearing public grievance petitions. The state has 118 complaints that have not been redressed, including 80 that have been pending for over a year. Delhi’s record is equally poor, with Sheila Dikshit’s Government still to address 99 petitions. This, incidentally, does not include the 53 complaints pending with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Maharashtra (74) and the Passports Division of the Ministry of External Affairs are the other prominent defaulters on this count. Kerala (6) and Himachal Pradesh (3) are among the states that have the best record.