Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) G.S. Malik on Tuesday said the state government is actively working to ensure that citizens' complaints are resolved at the district level, eliminating the need for people to travel to Gandhinagar for redressal. The announcement came during a surprise inspection of the Home Department's Public Relations Centre and the Public Relations Office at Police Bhavan, Gandhinagar.

What the Review Covered

During the unannounced visit, DGP Malik assessed the nature of complaints being received at the Gandhinagar centres, the challenges faced by applicants, and the districts from which the highest volume of representations originate. He also held direct, face-to-face discussions with citizens present at the facility to gather first-hand feedback on the grievance redressal process.

'We have undertaken a detailed review of the kinds of issues citizens bring to the Gandhinagar centre, their major concerns and the districts from which a large number of applicants come,' Malik said. 'The objective is to establish a system under which citizens from such districts can receive justice and resolution at the local level itself.'

What the Government Plans to Do

The Home Department is developing a more effective mechanism to spare citizens from undertaking long journeys to the state capital for routine or significant grievances. 'Arrangements are being made so that ordinary citizens do not have to travel all the way to Gandhinagar for the resolution of their problems and can receive satisfactory redressal at the district level itself,' Malik said.

He noted that representations currently received in Gandhinagar are immediately forwarded to the concerned district authorities or relevant police units. The police administration, he added, has already put in place a system to ensure prompt, transparent, and fair disposal of complaints.

Role of the Public Relations Office

Officials described the Public Relations Office as more than a complaint-receiving window — it functions as a critical interface between the police and the public. The citizen-centric approach currently in place at the state level is expected to be replicated and strengthened across all districts as part of a broader push to make the police system more accessible, responsive, and accountable.

Why This Matters

Centralised grievance systems often place a disproportionate burden on citizens from remote districts, who must bear travel costs and time loss to seek basic redressal. By identifying high-volume originating districts and decentralising the response mechanism, the Gujarat Police aims to reduce that friction. Notably, this initiative reflects a wider national conversation about last-mile governance and police accountability at the grassroots level. How quickly the district-level infrastructure is strengthened will determine whether the intent translates into measurable relief for citizens.