Government of West Bengal
Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department
Nabanna, 325, Sarat Chatterjee Road, Howrah-711102
No. 36-ACS/PAR/2026 Date: 21.08.2026
ORDER
Fixation of standing days and times for field-level officers to personally meet the public for hearing and disposal of grievances.
In order to ensure that field-level officers remain personally accessible to the public for the hearing and disposal of grievances, notwithstanding the online mechanisms already in operation, the following instructions are issued for strict compliance by all field-level officers, including Civil (Divisional Commissioners, District Magistrates, Municipal Commissioners, CEOs of Development Authorities, Additional District Magistrates, Sub-Divisional Officers, Block Development Officers, Executive Officers of Urban Local Bodies, etc.), Police (field-level Director General of Police, Additional Director Generals of Police, Inspector Generals of Police, Commissioners of Police, Deputy Inspector Generals of Police, Superintendents of Police, Deputy Commissioners of Police, Additional Superintendents of Police, Sub-Divisional Police Officers, Inspectors/ Officers-in-Charge of Police Stations, etc.), Forest (PCCF, Addl. PCCFs, COF, Divisional Forest Officers, Additional DFOs, Rangers, Officials, etc.), and officers of all Line Departments posted at the Directorates, District, Sub-Divisional, and Block level:-
- Every Tuesday and Thursday, between 10:30 A.M. and 01:00 P.M., the office of each such officer shall remain open for the officer concerned to personally meet members of the public and hear their grievances, without prior appointment.
- The aforesaid day and timing shall be prominently displayed at the respective offices, and, as far as practicable, no official meetings, tours, or other engagements shall be scheduled during the said hours.
- The official e-mail address and mobile number of the concerned officer shall be mandatorily displayed at a prominent and easily accessible place in the respective office and shall also be prominently published on the official website of the concerned Office/Department, so as to facilitate direct communication by members of the public.
- The Apnar Sarkar Apnar Pashe (ASAP) portal shall be suitably enhanced to capture the grievances received during such sittings and the action taken thereon, for review by the Divisional Commissioners/ District Magistrates and other higher authorities.
- This arrangement shall supplement, and not substitute, the online grievance-redressal channels already in operation, so that citizens without access to digital modes continue to have a guaranteed and dependable avenue for in-person redressal at the field level.
- All Departments, District Magistrates, Municipal Commissioners and Commissioners of Police shall ensure wide publicity of this Order and strict compliance thereof. Compliance shall be reviewed periodically by the Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department.
This Order takes effect immediately.
(Manoj Kumar Agarwal)
Chief Secretary