The Adalat aimed at bringing the entire civic administration at the doorstep of the people seems doomed to withering on the vine.
Officials of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation have completely ignored the Adalat concept for the last three months in Circle offices, much to the dismay of people. The people, consequently, are forced to rush to the VMC main office to lodge their petitions, complaints and grievances.
The VMC used to receive not less than 50 petitions at every Adalat conducted in the Circle offices. Sometimes, the number used to touch 100 also. The idea in conducting the Adalat is to receive petitions from the public and dispose of them immediately. The VMC used to conduct Adalats at Circle-III Office every Tuesday; Circle-II (Wednesday), Circle-I (Friday) and the main office (remaining days).
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Municipal Commissioners like Natarajan Gulzar used to track status of the petitions received. The officials were made accountable for compliance and disposal of the petitions in a week. Immediate past Commissioner Ravi Babu used to convene the review meetings at Circle offices, if required, so that the meetings did not hamper the Adalats.
Congress and opposition leaders mince no words in holding the Commissioner responsible for “breaking the Adalat system”. The Adalats were for people to air the grievances as there are no elected representatives. At a juncture, where council was not there, the officials should take additional care to reach the public, they opined. However, the VMC officials had given the go-by, they say, and added: “the adalats should be restored immediately.”
CPI(M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao says, “the Municipal Commissioner is 100 per cent responsible for the situation.
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The VMC is not conducting the Adalats as it had no answer and solution to the public grievances.” YSR Congress leader P. Gowtham Reddy says,
“The MLAs and MP have no time to attend the public issues. The VMC wound up the only forum available for the public. People will be forced to launch agitation if the Adalats are not restored.”