Five years after she first sought permission to trim the branches, which local goons used to scale to gain illegal access to her property, the rusty wheels of the Gram Panchayat began to turn only in July this year, when the Office of the Collector in Thane ordered it to expedite Matkari's request. That was after Matkari attended the Janata Din, the people's forum convened to redress citizens' complaints.

Today, standing amid a pile of broken boughs in her compound, Matkari reflects on the deadwood that has piled up in the Gram Panchayat and other local administrative offices, which ironically seem to function only when prodded by the heavyhand of the higher bureaucracy.

Shantabai Shelke, who lost her way in the state government's labyrinth almost two decades ago, is both relieved and indignant today. Ever since her husband, who worked with the Thane Employment Office, died in 1980, the 55-year-old lady has been struggling to claim his retirement benefits but to no avail. Then, in September, Shelke, who moved into a home for the aged in Igatpuri after her son died a few years ago, received her first glimmer of hope. Her case was recorded by the collector during the Janata Din the same month and the collectorate has since asked her to forward the documents pertaining to her husband's case.

However, Shekle sighs: ``Things might have been quite different for me if only the Thane Employment Office had done its bit. Why must it take a forum like the Janata Din to expedite routine work?''

The Gawands, residents of Kolbad in Thane, couldn't agree more. The sleazy goings-on at Hotel Maharaj, where a thriving prostitution racket had been operatinga stone's throw away from their own building, was the bane of their existence since 1995. A defeated lot till they attended the Janata Din in August this year, even the combined might of the seven Gawand brothers was unable to get the local authorities to raze the three unauthoritied stories the hotel had built to ply its trade.

Says Usha Shashikant, a member of the Gawand family: ``The hotel had built three storeys housing dingy rooms which used to be rented out on an hourly basis. Things had grown increasingly uncomfortable for us. But every effort to get the structure demolished failed.''

That was till they attended the Janata Din in August. Says Usha Gawand: ``The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) was amazingly quick to demolish the roof on the hotel's third floor and we have been told that the remaining illegal portions will also be razed.'' The police chowki across the road, she says, simply had only looked the other way.

The number of citizens approaching the Janata Din, conducted on the thirdMonday of every month in every district of the state, has been swelling since the forum was launched in Thane in June. From the first batch of 25 petitions, the number climbed to 88 by July, 141 by August and 271 by September.

Representatives of all 11 departments under the Collectorate are present to receive complaints including the municipal offices at Thane, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar, MSRTC, MSEB, Deputy Registrar for Cooperatives, Irrigation Department, Public Works Department and the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran. Representatives from the Thane and Navi Mumbai police are also present.

However, records indicate that almost 40 per cent of the complaints pertain to the revenue departments of the Collectorate, followed by the TMC and the Zilla Parishad.

Stock-taking

Before the Konkan Divisional commissioner meets with collectors on October 15 to take stock, Collector of Thane, Mukesh Khullar, has asked the heads of the 11 departments under its jurisdiction to submit a status report on the casesreceived by them so far. He told Express Newsline that of the 141 petitions received till August, 68 have been disposed of and 21 others are under investigation.