The Madhya Pradesh Lok Sewaon ke Pradan ki Guarantee Adhiniyam 2010
Public Service Guarantee Act also known as Right To Service Act (RTS), enacted by some Indian States aims to create a transparent and accountable public service as a matter of citizens’ right. The Act entitles the citizens a time bound service delivery making it legally binding, entailing imposition of a fine against the erring official concerned. The Assembly passed the law on 30-7-2010.In M.P, 52 services of 16 government departments have been placed under the ambit of the Act. The remaining states and Union Government are also contemplating to follow the suit . Madhya Pradesh became the first state in India to enact Right to Service Act on 18 August 2010 and Bihar was the second to enact this bill on 25 July 2011. Several other states like Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand have introduced similar legislation for effectuating the right to service to the citizen.
The Madhya Pradesh government had introduced the Public Service Guarantee Act 2010 to bring about transparency in government functioning and make officials accountable for delay in delivery. However, the Act, instead of empowering people has turned out a tool to mobilize revenue for the state coffers. M P Public Service Guarantee Act was introduced in 2010 to make the government officials accountable and since September 2012, the Lok Seva Kendra (Public Service Centre) opened by a private contractor across the state is charging a fee of Rs 30 is for every query.
The salient features of the act are:
- Enable registration of requests for all services covered under the act and the subsequent work flow management of the request.
- Enable online tracking of the request by the applicant.
- Allow senior officials to monitor the performance of a officer dispensing a service.
- A “Notice Board” which details the list of services offered by a designated officer along with the documents required to avail the service and the senior officials who could be approached to file appeals in case the service is not delivered in the time limit specified under the act. District Informatics Centre, Dhar organized a training session to educate the District Officials on the Management Information System.
Services under Public Service Guarantee Act
The Act ensures delivery of time bound services to the public. If the officer responsible for the service fails to provide the service in time he will have to pay a fine. The following are the services guaranteed under the Act:
- Birth Certificate
- Caste Certificate
- Domicile Certificate
- Tap water supply connection
- Khasra copies
- Death Certificate
The Procedure under the Public Service Guarantee Act:
- The applicant shall receive a receipt when he or she submits an application to the officer for desired service. The time begins from the date of submission which is mentioned the receipt.
- There is a fixed time for every officer to keep a file with him. If the officer in charge fails to provide the service in time the applicant can approach the first and second appellate officers. They would instruct the officer concerned to provide the service.
- In case of delay, the officer in charge will have to pay a fine to the tune of Rs. 250 per day, maximum of Rs. 5,000.
- The Appellate officer can also be penalized if he fails to ensure the delivery of service. He shall be fined to the tune of Rs. 500 per day, maximum of Rs. 5,000 if he is unable to give any valid reason for non delivery of services.
Process
If the intended service is not delivered in a stipulated time by a government department; an appeal can be made to the First Appellate Authority. If not redressed, another appeal can further be made to the Second Appellate Authority. They based on the merit, can either reject or accept the application by serving a written order to the official or department concerned asking for the reasons for the non delivery duly intimating the same to the applicant. Or else , they can order the concerned public servant to render the service to the applicant immediately or can impose a penalty at the rate of Rs 250 per day for causing delay which can range from Rs. 250 to Rs. 5000.Or based on the severity may recommend Proceedings against the official as well. The applicant may be compensated for delay out of the penalty imposed on the erring officer. Common Service Centers are leveraged to make the Act wide open for public use.
Cost Reduction
An online tracking of the status of the application by the applicant and mechanism of its knowledge to the higher officials increased the chances of disposal not requiring to make rounds physically.
Corruption Reduction
- Time bound delivery of service and online tracking of grievance resulted in transparent administration.
- It led to elimination of malpractices and corruption as the officials are duty bound to deliver the service in a time frame
- Till July 2012 in the state of M.P, as many as 1.25 crore applications were received under this Act, out of which 99 per cent were disposed. Since availability of online mode of application receiving from August 7, 2011 in M.P, as many as 24 lakh applications were received, out of which 99 per cent were disposed off.
Service Improvement
- Speedy and time–bound delivery of service resulted in ease of monitoring by the Heads of Department.
- Provision of appealing to the first and second appellant authorities infused fear among erring officials, compelling them do deliver service speedily
. • As many as 346 Public Service Centers (PSCs), which facilitate on line filing and tracking of application have been opened across the state for smooth implementation of the Act
- Till date, the state has received 1.11 crore complaints from citizens for non-delivery of essential services. Of these, 1.10 crore complaints have been addressed.
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