Andhra Pradesh launches helpline for corruption-related complaints

In yet another move towards ensuring corrupt-free administration, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday launched 14400, a citizen helpline number meant to enable people to complain about graft in government departments. The chief minister made the first call on the occasion to the call centre and enquired about its functioning.

He said citizens could directly call the helpline and lodge a complaint against corruption in any government department. He said all complaints would be investigated in 15 to 30 days and required action taken. Jagan, who has been focusing on eliminating graft since he took over the reins in the state, has said the fight against corruption should be taken aggressively. He has also said he would personally monitor the complaints on corruption and also the action taken on them.

Step to curb corruption

The call centre is another step in the government's efforts to curb corruption in administration at all levels. The state government has already engaged the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to study the structural issues in government departments vis-a-vis corruption and come out with measures required to tackle them. The IIM-A team is expected to submit its report in February 2020. Municipal Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, Director General of Police Gautam Sawang, Anti-Corruption Bureau Director-General Kumar Vishwajeet and other officials attended.

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