Shimla
A spokesperson of Town and Country Planning Department (TCP) today here informed that the department has issued new guidelines to ensure transparency and time-bound redressal of public grievances related to town and village planning. He said that the objective of this grievance redressal system was to create a transparent and effective mechanism for resolving TCP-related complaints and to ensure their timely disposal at the local level.
He said that under the new system, grievance redressal authorities have been constituted at the divisional, sub-divisional and office levels. At the Divisional Town Planning Office, a Divisional Town Planning Grievance Redressal Authority has been set up where people can submit their complaints to the Town and Country Planner. If the complainant was not satisfied with the decision, an appeal can be filed before the State Town Planner. Similarly, at the Sub-Divisional Town Planning Office, complaints can be submitted to the Assistant Town Planner and in case of dissatisfaction, an appeal can be made to the Town and Country Planner.
The Spokesperson further said that in districts where Divisional Town Planning Offices were not available, people of Chamba district can submit their complaints to the Town and Country Planner at Dharamshala, residents of Una district to the Town and Country Planner at Hamirpur, and residents of Bilaspur district to the Town and Country Planner at Mandi. At the Town Planning Office level, complaints can be filed with the Planning Officer and if the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution, the complaint can be forwarded to the Town and Country Planner.
He said that complaints must be heard within 15 working days and resolved within 30 working days. If a complaint is not resolved within this period, it will be forwarded for further action within five working days. Appeals will be registered within five working days, and the hearing and review process will be completed within 30 working days. A final decision on appeals will be issued within 60 working days from the date of registration.
The Spokesperson added that complainants can submit their grievances through a dedicated portal on the TCP website or in the prescribed format at the District Town Planner Office. To ensure effective monitoring, a State Grievance Monitoring Committee will be constituted to review the grievance redressal process, and the committee will submit half-yearly reports to the government.
