Grievance Redressal Mechanisms
- Ombudsman for Local Self Government Institutions
The responsibility of the Ombudsman for Local Self Government Institutions is to legally investigate and take necessary action on complaints regarding corruption, maladministration, and irregularities that may occur during the discharge of administrative duties by governing committee members, including the President, and officials, as well as officials directly or indirectly deputed or transferred to local self-government institutions.
Any individual can submit complaints to the Secretary of the Ombudsman directly or via registered/ordinary post, without the assistance of an intermediary. Along with a complaint written on plain white paper, a duly filled Form 'A' (affixed with a ten-rupee court fee stamp) and copies of the complaint (number of opposing parties + two) must also be submitted.
The sittings of the Ombudsman are conducted at its office in Thiruvananthapuram, as well as at the district headquarters of Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, and Kannur. Except for the cost of the ten-rupee court fee stamp, no other fees of any kind will be collected from the parties. Any person associated with a case can appear directly and fearlessly before the Ombudsman, without the need for a lawyer or any other external assistance, to present their arguments and seek a resolution.2.Tribunal for Local Self Government Institutions
The responsibility of the Tribunal appointed for Local Self Government Institutions is to consider and decide upon appeals and revisions against the decisions made by local self-government institutions. A judicial officer holding the rank of a District Judge is appointed as the Tribunal. Additionally, the Tribunal is empowered to provide opinions on references received from the Government regarding the legality or validity of any decision taken by local self-government institutions.
Petitions must be submitted in Form C within 30 days from the date of the order being appealed against. With the Tribunal's permission, an appeal or revision can be filed with a delay condonation petition for up to one month. In cases where an appeal filed before a local self-government institution remains undecided for 60 days, it is sufficient to file a petition before the Tribunal within 90 days.
Along with the petition, an attested copy of the petition and its related documents, along with as many attested copies as there are opposing parties, can be submitted to the Tribunal either directly or via registered post. A fee of Rs. 50 must be remitted along with the petition, either at the Tribunal's office or as a Demand Draft (DD) payable at Thiruvananthapuram. Furthermore, a Legal Benefit Fund stamp worth Rs. 100 must be affixed to the petition.
Address: Secretary, Tribunal for Local Self Government Institutions, Sreemoolam Buildings, Court Complex, Vanchiyoor, Thiruvananthapuram.
3. Chief Minister's Public Grievance Redressal System
The Kerala Chief Minister's Office (CMO) Portal is a public grievance redressal system. Launched to resolve public grievances highly efficiently, this website includes options to submit complaints, check their status, and locate charge officers. Similarly, it features dashboards for state services, grievance redressal information, and relief fund reports, as well as public testimonials regarding the services. This portal aims to make citizen services more people-friendly and service-oriented.
4. Grievance Redressal System of the Minister for Local Self Government and Excise
This is a grievance redressal system that connects various levels of offices within the Local Self Government and Excise departments. The online grievance redressal portal can be utilized to submit complaints related to these departments directly to the Minister. The complainant will receive SMS notifications for every action taken or update regarding their complaint.. #
