After Bihar, Punjab is poised to blaze a new trail in the country when it implements the Right to Service for which the state cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Parkash Singh Badal paved the way on Tuesday.
The state cabinet approved the Right to Service Ordinance 2011 to ensure the delivery of citizen centric services like driving licence, arms licence, revenue record and copy of first information report etc. to the people with in the stipulated time limit.
Talking to FE at Punjab Bhawan soon after the cabinet meeting, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said that ?Punjab cabinet decision shows the seriousness with which the state was trying to tackle the menace of corruption. It is how Punjab has scored as the Union government is still mulling a proposal in this regard with tremendous pressure from the civil society?. He added that ?the Ordinance would cut down on delays and empower citizens?.
In the Ordinance, a provision of penalty clause has been introduced to charge a lumpsum penalty of minimum R500 up to maximum of R5,000 from the authorised designated officers who fail to provide the services to the persons in a time bound manner without any sufficient and reasonable cause. In case the designated officer has caused undue delay in providing the services, then he would be liable to pay a penalty at a rate of R250 per day for such delay and it would not be more than R 5,000.
Official sources told FE that ?the Ordinance would be on the lines of the Act passed by the Bihar in February this year which has already got the state Governor?s assent?. Under the Act, state government officials will be bound to provide 20-odd services to the public within a set time frame, failing which they will be liable to be fined. There is provision for appellate and review authorities who will look into complaints of non-delivery of services and impose fine on the officials concerned.
The Act also include issue of caste, domicile and income certificates, driving licences and vehicle registration, police verification of passport applications, issue of new ration cards and social security pensions. Applications for these services will have to be disposed of in 21 to 60 days, depending on the service.
Official sources told that the landmark Ordinance was aimed at empowering the citizens with the right to get the services from the government within a deadline on one hand and to ensure 100% accountability of the officers of implementing agencies on the other.