Published Jun 20, 2026 | 6:18 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 20, 2026 | 6:18 PM
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
Synopsis: The new department to be set up under a minister will have a senior IAS officer heading the grievance-monitoring mechanism. Petitions submitted to ministers, including those received directly by the chief minister, will be routed through the department for review and follow-up.
The Karnataka government on Saturday, 20 June, announced its decision to form a new department, Praja Seva soon, to strengthen citizen grievance redressal and administrative responses in the state.
The decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on Saturday.
“The first decision we have taken today concerns public grievances,” Chief Minister DK Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru after the meeting.
“We are creating a separate ministry called the Praja Seva Department (Public service department). A separate minister will be assigned responsibility for this department,” he announced.
Elaborating on the plan to form the new department, the chief minister stated that a senior IAS officer will head the grievance-monitoring mechanism. Petitions submitted to ministers, including those received directly by the chief minister, will be routed through the department for review and follow-up.
Ministers in charge of districts have been asked to hold weekly grievance-redressal and public outreach meetings at the taluk level in the presence of local legislators.
“For all the 224 Assembly constituencies, district ministers will be required to visit one taluk every week and conduct public interaction meetings and grievance-redressal meetings under the auspices of Praja Seva Department,” Shiva Kumar said.
“People have many problems. When district ministers visit, when the chief minister meets people, or when protests are held, we must respond to their feelings and issues,” he said while announcing the Praja Seva Department.
Minister of e-governance Priyank Kharge further explained the new department.
“The new ministry will focus on integrated grievance management, time-bound resolution of public issues, process simplification, citizen feedback and the adoption of best practices to improve governance and service delivery across departments,” he said in a post on X.
He added that the Department of E-Governance will provide technical support to the initiative, including developing an Integrated Public Grievance Redressal System (iPGRS) 2.0 and other digital systems required for its effective implementation.
