Would UTTARA be the answer?

 

It was a long and drawn-out legal battle, but finally, the court had ruled in favour of the applicant. The respondent government had been ordered to consider the applicant's application and dispose of it within three months!! The applicant, a citizen who had been waiting for months for a response from the government, was relieved and grateful for the court's decision. As the applicant stepped out of the courthouse, she couldn't help but wonder why it had taken so long for the government to respond in the first place. She knew that there were thousands of citizens across the country who were facing similar delays and frustrations.

In today's digital age, there is an increasing need for transparency and accountability in government operations. One way to achieve this is by implementing a unique identification and tracking mechanism for all sorts of communications that citizens make with governments and government servants.

Currently, there is no standardized and universal system for tracking and monitoring communications between citizens and government officials. There are many grievance redress platforms; but when it comes to tracking original applications so that grievances are not generated in the first place, we could aspire for more.  The lack of accountability regarding applications makes it difficult to hold government officials responsible for their actions, and this could lead to corruption and a lack of trust in public institutions.

An identification and tracking mechanism would provide citizens with the ability to track all their communications with government officials, enabling them to ensure that their concerns (and grievances) are being addressed appropriately. With this mechanism in place, citizens would have a record of their interactions with the government, which would facilitate communication and help to eliminate conflicts over misunderstandings or miscommunication.

Additionally, a tracking mechanism would enable governments to monitor the performance of their officials and ensure that they are providing quality services to the public. It would help in identifying any bottlenecks or inefficiencies in the system, which would allow prompt redress of grievances and ensure the efficient and effective delivery of services.


However, the implementation of such a system would be challenging, and it would require significant resources and investment in infrastructure and technology. Moreover, there would need to be strict data privacy regulations in place to protect citizens' information.


In addition to enhancing the transparency and accountability of government operations, implementing a unique identification and tracking mechanism for all citizens' communications with governments and government servants would also operationalize the ‘right to response’ for citizens, which is necessary for ensuring a right to life with dignity.

The right to response is a fundamental aspect of a functioning democracy, in which the people have the right to voice their opinions, concerns, and grievances without fear of reprisal. The implementation of a tracking mechanism would provide citizens with an assurance that their communications are being taken seriously and addressed appropriately, and that their voices are heard and their concerns are responded to in a timely manner.

Furthermore, operationalizing the right to response would empower citizens to hold governments accountable for their actions and decisions. It would provide a platform for citizens to voice their opinions and concerns in a transparent and accountable manner, which would help to build trust between the government and citizens.

Importantly, operationalizing the right to response would also enhance citizens' right to life with dignity. The right to life includes a right to basic needs such as education, healthcare, and basic amenities. Operationalizing the right to response would ensure that citizens' concerns and grievances are addressed by the government. Therefore, implementing a unique identification and tracking mechanism for all citizens' communications with governments and government servants would not only enhance transparency and accountability but would also operationalize the right to response, which is necessary for ensuring a right to life with dignity.

In addition to the lack of a unique identification and tracking mechanism, there is presently a significant monetary barrier to accessing the judicial system in many countries. This barrier can prevent citizens from seeking legal recourse when their concerns and grievances are not appropriately addressed by the government.

A tracking mechanism that mandates a response to a representation could help to overcome this barrier by providing citizens with a means of holding government officials responsible for their actions, without incurring the significant costs associated with accessing the judicial system. This would help to ensure that no citizen is denied access to justice, regardless of their financial status.

Implementing a unique identification and tracking mechanism for citizens' communications with governments and government servants would not only ensure that citizens' concerns and grievances are being addressed but would also help to reduce the workload of the judicial system. This would free up resources for the judicial system to focus on more complex cases, thus ensuring that justice is delivered efficiently and effectively.


Additionally, a unique identification and tracking mechanism would also allow officers at every level of governance to view the kind of pendency that exists at different levels reporting to them. With this information, officers would be able to redeploy administrative resources in a more informed manner, ensuring that citizens' concerns and grievances are addressed more efficiently and effectively.

For example, a local officer may see that there is a significant backlog of applications related to revenue records mutation in a particular area. With this information, the officer could work with their team to increase the number of workers dedicated to this task, or to schedule/prioritise activities accordingly. Similarly, an officer at a higher level may see that there is a significant backlog of applications for certain government schemes, allowing them to allocate additional resources to ensure that these applications are processed more quickly.

By providing officers with a clear understanding of the pendency that exists at different levels of governance, this tracking mechanism would enable them to make more informed decisions about resource allocation, leading to a more effective and efficient government system. This would ultimately benefit citizens, as their concerns and grievances would be addressed in a more timely manner, leading to an improvement in their quality of life.


Furthermore, implementing a unique identification and tracking mechanism can help to improve citizen satisfaction by proactively monitoring communication at the initial stage. This would help to address issues before they escalate into complaints or grievances, ultimately increasing citizen delight.

For instance, if a citizen sends a complaint regarding a pothole on a road through the tracking mechanism, the relevant government official would be notified immediately. This would enable the official to take action to fix the pothole before it turns into a larger issue, such as an accident or multiple complaints from citizens. This would help in information gathering regarding points of action which are desired by more number of citizens helping to channelize the resource allocation.

Proactively addressing citizens' concerns would help to build trust between citizens and their governments, as citizens would feel that their grievances are being heard and addressed. This, in turn, would help to reduce the workload of the judicial system, as fewer citizens would need to pursue legal recourse to have their grievances addressed.

Moreover, the tracking mechanism could be used to send automated responses to citizens, acknowledging their communication and providing information on the expected response time. This automated response would increase transparency and enable citizens to track the progress of their grievances in real-time, further increasing citizen satisfaction.


To implement a unique identification and tracking mechanism for citizens' communications with the government, a system like Universal Transparent Tracking of Applications and Responses to Applications (UTTARA) could be used. Similar to Aadhar, UTTARA would provide a unique identification for citizens' communications with the government.

However, unlike Aadhar, which provides a unique identification for individuals, UTTARA would provide a unique identification for each communication. This would help to ensure that all citizens' concerns and grievances are addressed in a timely and efficient manner, regardless of the channel through which they are communicated. Just as the UPI is providing a framework for financial transactions, UTTARA could provide a framework for interactions with the Government for the citizens.

UTTARA could be linked with existing government applications, such as e-governance portals or portals for filing complaints, to provide a seamless user experience for citizens. This would enable citizens to communicate with the government through a variety of channels, including mobile applications and websites, ensuring that they can easily access government services from anywhere, at any time.

Overall, the implementation of a tracking mechanism like UTTARA could significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the government system while providing greater transparency and accountability for citizens.

However, it is important to note that the implementation of a tracking mechanism like UTTARA may not be welcomed by everyone within the government system. Some government officials may be resistant to the idea of transparency and accountability, as they may be accustomed to operating within an asymmetrical system of access and power. They may be resistant to change and may prefer to operate under the radar, away from public scrutiny.

As such, it will be important to build consensus and trust among government officials regarding the value and benefits of such a tracking mechanism. This could involve highlighting the benefits of improved transparency and accountability, including faster and more efficient grievance redressal, reduced workload, and increased citizen satisfaction.

Moreover, implementing such a tracking mechanism would require significant investment in technology, training and education, and administrative resources. This would need to be carefully managed to ensure that resources are deployed effectively and efficiently, without causing undue disruption to existing government operations.

Finally, it is important to ensure that any tracking mechanism is designed in a way that protects citizens' privacy and data security. This would require robust data privacy laws, and strict adherence to cybersecurity protocols, to ensure that citizens' sensitive data is not compromised.

The implementation of a tracking mechanism like UTTARA would require significant commitment and investment from the government, as well as a willingness to change existing systems of power and access. However, the benefits of increased transparency, accountability, and citizen satisfaction are likely to outweigh any initial resistance, making such a mechanism a valuable tool for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the government system.

Implementing a unique identification and tracking mechanism like UTTARA would require significant technological investments on multiple fronts. Some of the key technological investments required for UTTARA may include:

1. A robust database: A central database would need to be created to store all citizens' communications with the government. This database would need to be secure and scalable to handle the high volume of communications that are likely to be received on a daily basis.

2. Unique identification number: Each communication received from a citizen would be assigned a unique identification number, which would enable the government officials to track and monitor the progress of the communication. The government officials would be able to view the status of the communication anytime by entering the unique identification number.

3. Integration with existing systems: The tracking mechanism would need to be integrated with existing government applications, such as e-governance portals, to ensure a seamless user experience for citizens.

4. Artificial intelligence (AI): Deploying AI technologies could aid in the identification and prioritization of communications based on urgency and potential impact. This would enable government officials to deal with critical issues more quickly, reducing the response time and increasing citizen delight.

5. Mobile application: A mobile application can be developed to enable citizens to communicate with the government using their mobile phones. This would increase accessibility for citizens and enable them to receive updates on the progress of their grievances in real-time.

6. Cybersecurity protocols: Robust cybersecurity protocols would be required to ensure the safety and security of citizens' sensitive data. This would include encryption and authentication mechanisms, as well as regular vulnerability assessments and security audits.


In addition to the aforementioned technological investments, UTTARA could also be built as an open source platform. This would mean that the tracking mechanism would be made available to all government offices for adoption, and any office could choose to onboard themselves onto the platform.

By making UTTARA an open source platform, the government would encourage a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. This would enable government officials to work together to identify and address any issues with the system, and to continually refine and improve its functionality.

Moreover, building UTTARA as an open source platform would help to ensure that the system is tailored to the specific needs and requirements of the different government offices. This would enable government officials to adapt the tracking mechanism to their specific workflows, and to ensure that it integrates seamlessly with their existing systems and processes.

An open source UTTARA platform could also enable a wider community of developers and tech experts to contribute to the project, thereby promoting innovation and increasing the pace of development. This would ultimately result in a more robust and effective tracking mechanism, which would benefit both government officials and citizens.

Overall, building UTTARA as an open source platform would enable greater collaboration, innovation, and customization, and could help to ensure that the tracking mechanism is more widely adopted and more effective in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the government system.

It is possible for a citizen's collective to build the framework for UTTARA. This would involve a group of concerned citizens who have the necessary technical expertise coming together to develop the tracking mechanism and make it available to government offices for adoption.

Building UTTARA through a citizen's collective could have significant benefits. For example, it would enable citizens to take a more active role in shaping the government system and ensuring that it is more transparent and accountable. This would help to build trust between citizens and the government and promote greater civic engagement.

Moreover, building UTTARA through a citizen's collective could help to ensure that the tracking mechanism is developed in a way that prioritizes the needs and concerns of citizens. This would help to ensure that the tracking mechanism is user-friendly and accessible, and that it addresses the specific grievances and complaints that citizens are most concerned about.

While government officials may be wary of an asymmetry of access, building UTTARA through a citizen's collective could help to establish a more collaborative relationship between citizens and the government. This would ultimately benefit both parties, by helping to promote greater efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in the government system.

Overall, building UTTARA through a citizen's collective would be a powerful way to harness the collective expertise and energy of citizens in service of a more accountable, responsive, and effective government system.


With UTTARA in place, there would be no need for the courts to mandate that the ‘respondent government address the applicant's application within three months’. The tracking mechanism would have ensured that the government was taking appropriate action and meeting its obligations to citizens in a timely and efficient manner. If not, it would be there for the world to see and make a decision in the next opportunity.

Overall, the unique identification and tracking mechanism can have a significant impact on improving citizen satisfaction by proactively addressing citizens' concerns and grievances, reducing the workload of the judicial system, and increasing transparency in the grievance redressal process. By improving citizen delight, this mechanism would ultimately help to build a more responsive and effective government system.

If you believe you can contribute value to a citizen’s collective building this framework, you could join the group.....https://chat.whatsapp.com/IRe12JJOWPJHYHHiD2Wyks 

 

(The author acknowledges the use of the artificial intelligence of ChatGPT and his natural stupidity in writing this article)