People must make use of the Lokayukta office by filing complaints against the alleged corrupt practices of government officials or lack of proper implementation of the government welfare schemes by officers or Village/Ward Secretariat employees, said Lokayukta P. Lakshman Reddy on Saturday.
Inaugurating the office of the Lokayukta in Room 3 of the State Guest House in the city along with District Collector P. Koteswara Rao, Justice Reddy said people from the coastal regions made use of this provision in an effective manner, and now that the Lokayukta office had been set up in Kurnool, people from the backward region also should either personally visit or write a letter to lodge a complaint.
Any Public Interest petition/complaint filed with Lokayukta was exempt from the ₹150 registration fee and it applied to the poor also, said Justice Reddy. “All our staff here will be available even on the telephone for giving information related to the office of Lokayukta and people can just write a letter or send their complaint through a registered post also enclosing ₹150 fee to the registrar of the Lokayukta and need not come personally,” he added.
An investigation would be done on the complaint and only when the presence of the complainant becomes essential during the trial stage, he/she would be called. People could utilise the services of the Lokayukta in relation to the improper conduct/operation of the irrigation canals, municipal roads, or drains. Welfare schemes implementation-related complaints also could be filed, he pointed out.
Justice Reddy was given a warm welcome in a traditional manner with Veda pundits chanting hymns and performing a puja before the Lokayukta sat in his seat.
