Public Relations Facet of Information and Communication Technology: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Public Grievance Variables

The study investigates the grievance redressal capability of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in a unique e-governance project, ‘Gyandoot’, currently running in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. The category of ‘questions, answers and suggestions’ in the project accounted for biggest number, followed by the complaints of public facilities like water, aanganwadi, income and birth certificates, etc. Medical problems topped the list with 83% of the grievances being redressed. More importance was given to the ‘questions, answers and suggestions’ category where 34% of them were solved within a single day and some on the very day itself. The exceptionally quick response was evident in one-fourth of the complaints which were solved within a single day’s time and that too completely online, right from receiving till disposal. The project opened channels of vertical and horizontal communication. Whistle-blowers and other socially-conscious people found the project handy to communicate any wrongdoing to the district administration. However, the euphoria dwindled in subsequent years as the Deputy Commissioner was transferred. The redressal service suffered partially due to people’s tendency to settle their personal scores who very often filed the wrong complaints.