The Centralised Grievance Redressal System implemented in Bihar has been awarded with SKOCH Award 2013 declaring it India’s best system for Urban Governance. The System implemented by Bihar Urban Development & Housing Department ( GOB ) is meant for Grievance Redressal under 141 Urban Local Bodies of Bihar.
According to reports, the Intervention was awarded on ‘Order of Merit’ at the SKOCH Awards  Summit  on 2nd September 2013. SKOCH Award is India’s highest independent civilian honour in the field of finance, technology, economics and social sector.
The Centralised Grievance Redressal System developed for 141 ULBs of Bihar seeks to improve government citizen interface. It provides a uniform platform to register citizens grievances and give feedback; the functioning of the system is linked to timelines as per the Citizen Charter for ULBs.
The intervention has a welldefined escalation matrix for non-adherence to defined timelines for grievance redress. An SMS gateway has been integrated for information to citizens and field officials and its centralised implementation set-up facilitates cost savings and simplification of procedures.
The system was launched in February 2013 and has been working well with 80% of grievances successfully closed. It is noticeable that this intervention will not only bring government closer to the citizen, it is designed to enhance accountability and improvements in municipal services.