The government on Thursday gave its nod to a bill aimed at
providing time-bound delivery of services like passports, pensions and birth
and death certificates, among others, to citizens.
The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services
and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011, was approved by Union Cabinet at
a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The bill envisages penalty of up to Rs. 50,000 against a
government official failing to provide his or her duties, official sources
said.
It lays down an obligation upon every public authority to publish
citizen’s charter, stating therein 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 sources said the issue of inclusion of NRIs in the ambit of
the bill to access time-bound delivery of services will be dealt with
separately by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and the
Law Ministry.
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 Lokpal at the Centre (in case of
decision by the Centre’s public grievances redressal commission) and the
Lokayuktas in the States.
All services provided by both the Centre and the State governments
will be extended to citizens in a time-bound manner under the bill.
Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament last month, President
Pranab Mukherjee had said that his government attaches priority to the
enactment of the legislation proposed in this regard.
Source:-The Hindu
