The Government, in a meeting on 7th March, has given its nod to a Bill which is aimed at providing time-bound service delivery for passports, pensions and birth and death certificates, among several others. The bill was introduces in 2011 and is known as the Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011. The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM, approved the Bill. It is said that the Bill envisages a penalty of up to Rs 50,000 against any Government official who is found not to have provided his or her duties as per the norms set by the public office.
This Bill lays down a mandatory obligation on every public officer and authority to publish a citizen™s charter, in which the Public office will state the time within which the specified goods or services will be supplied or rendered as per the need, while also providing for a grievance redressal system for any non-compliance of the provisions it lays down in the charter.
Some salient features:
- All services provided by both the Centre and the State Governments will be extended to citizens in a time-bound manner under the Bill.
- Every Public office named in the Bill e.g. Passport, Pensions, Birth and Death Certification, and several others, need to publish a Public Charter.
- The Charter will enlist the services offered by the Public Office along with the time needed to fulfill the services
- There will be a time bound redressal of any grievance for non-compliance of norms or any other complaint.
- A fine / penalty of upto Rs 50000 (Rupees Fifty Thousand) may be charged from the Government official or public office for on genuine findings of non-compliance.
- As of now there is no clarity on inclusion of NRIs within the ambit of the Bill
- The issue of NRIs may be addressed separately by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and the Law Ministry, later.
- The proposed legislation, will be spearheaded by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
- It will also mandate the public authority to establish a call centre, customer care centre, help desk and people™s support system.
- The Bill also seeks every State and the Centre to establish a public grievance redressal commission.
- According to the proposed provisions of the bill, an aggrieved person, after the decision of the Redressal Commission might opt for an appeal before the Lokpal or Lokayuktas at the Centre or State depending on which Commission (State or Centre) has taken the decision.
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