New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) Starting June 20, Delhi Lt Governor T.S. Sandhu has directed all police stations to conduct public hearings every Saturday to resolve complaints and assist on issues related to police functioning and public safety, an official said on Sunday.

The “Thana Divas-Jan Sunwai” will be organised at every police station, every Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to augment public outreach and enhance accessibility of police services, said an official statement.

A circular issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha, while issuing guidelines for the weekly platform, said, “This shall serve as an open public hearing platform where members of the public may present their grievances, complaints, suggestions, requests for assistance, or matters relating to police functioning and public safety.”

The weekly campaign is aimed at promoting structured public grievance redressal, enhanced police-public interface and improved accountability at all levels.

A statement issued by Lok Niwas said the initiative will involve creating an open platform to address complaints, receive suggestions, and handle local public safety issues quickly on the ground.

The L-G has been emphasising on public-centric, accessible, and interactive policing as the most effective way to address public grievances and strengthen community confidence in law enforcement, it said.

The guidelines issued by Police Commissioner Golcha said that to ensure effective supervision and accountability, all supervisory officers from the level of Special Commissioner to Assistant Commissioner shall attend Jan Sunwai compulsorily in rotation, as per a schedule to be drawn up by each district.

“The presence of senior officers shall be ensured to facilitate expeditious resolution of grievances and to strengthen public confidence in the grievance redressal mechanism,” it said.

The Commissioner also instructed that every Police Station shall maintain a separate information sheet for recording grievances received during the public hearing as per the prescribed formats.

Stressing on time-bound action, Golcha said grievances requiring inquiry, verification, or field action shall be assigned immediately and disposed of within a reasonable timeframe.

Pending grievances shall be reviewed periodically by the concerned ACP and DCP to ensure timely disposal, he said.

The Police Commissioner also directed all SHOs shall ensure proper seating arrangements, assistance desks, and a citizen-friendly environment during the conduct of Thana Divas-Jan Sunwai.

“Any complainant who comes in Jan Sunwai shall be heard, irrespective of facts that his/her complaint is registered on Integrated Complaint Management System (ICMS) or not. Complaints received during the Jan Sunwai shall be accepted and subsequently uploaded on ICMS,” said the Commissioner in the circular.

–IANS

rch/pgh