Karnataka approves Praja Seva ministry grievance redressal

The Karnataka government has approved the creation of a new ministry dedicated to public grievance redressal, a major governance initiative announced by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. The decision was made during a state cabinet meeting held on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

The new body, named the Praja Seva ministry, will oversee an integrated system for managing citizen complaints, focusing on time-bound resolution, process simplification, and feedback collection. A dedicated minister and a senior Indian Administrative Service officer will lead the department, which aims to actively resolve issues rather than merely forwarding them between agencies. Chief Minister Shivakumar stated that petitions submitted to him and other ministers will be channeled through this new ministry for review and action.

A central component of the initiative mandates that ministers in charge of districts conduct weekly public interaction meetings, referred to as Jana Spandana, at the taluk level across all 224 Assembly constituencies. These meetings will involve local legislators to gather grievances and review the status of government programs. The inputs will then be funneled to the Praja Seva...