CABINET APPROVES DRAFT CITIZEN’S CHARTER BILL
• Government officials who delay services may face fines.
• Time lines set for service deliveries.
The Union Cabinet on March 7, 2013 gave in-principle approval to a Bill providing for time-bound delivery of services like pensions, passports, caste certificates, death certificates, rationcards and tax refunds, among others to citizens. Defaulters will attract a penalty of Rs. 250 a day subject to maximum of Rs. 50,000.
The Bill covers needs like passports, transport, caste certificates, power utilities or issues like release of funds for pollution abatement and police procedures for arrest.
• The law will ensure that all states offer time bound services relating to services listed in the Centre's citizen's charter. The concept was implemented by the UK in 1991.
• Intended to blunt the Anna Hazare campaign, the Bill is being brought to the Cabinet 15 months after it was introduced in Lok Sabha in Dec. 2011.
• Penalties include fine up to Rs. 50,000, investigation for corruption and disciplinary procedures for deliberate delays.
• Grievance redressal officers to be in place from central to panchayat level. The Bill regulates public officials at Central and State levels under the clause 'actionable wrong' in the concurrent list.
• Public authority will include ministries, public-private partnership, NGOs funded by govt. and private firms providing outsourced government services.
The Right of citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their grievances Bill, 2011, lays down an obligation upon every public authority to publish citizens' charter, stating there in the time within which specified goods shall be supplied and services be rendered and provides for a grievance redressal mechanism for non-compliance of its provisions.
The proposed legislation, spearheaded by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, also mandates a public authority to establish a call centre,
customer care centre, help desk and people's support system to ensure time-bound delivery of services. It also seeks establishment of public grievance redressal commission at the Centre and every State. According to its provisions, a person aggrieved by the decision of the commission may prefer an appeal before the Lok Pal at the Centre (in case of decision by the Centre's Public Grievance Redressal commission) and the Lokayuktas in the States.
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