BENGALURU: In a damning report on the state of affairs of the Sakala Services in Karnataka, a study conducted for the Union Ministry of Law and Justice has blamed middlemen for ensuring that corruption continued to exist in government departments.
The findings of the study by Associate Professor Yashomati Ghosh and Research Investigator Shailendra Kumar of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bengaluru on the implementation of the Karnataka Sakala Services Act 2011 were made public on Sunday. The Sakala Services Act is aimed at ensuring timely delivery of services through usage of information technology.
Adminstrative officer of Sakala Mission K Mathai, popularly referred to as whistleblower, said the study vindicated the findings of his report submitted to the Chief Minister in April.
“Dalals are prevalent in the departments such as RTO, Revenue, etc. Dalal works as a mediator and facilitates the applicant to get services with the help of government officials,” the report said. It further said, “Action cannot be taken against such officers and middlemen, because, as per the Sakala Act and rule, there is no such power for the Sakala Mission.”
Despite being launched as an online service, the application filed online is often rejected by the officer on some pretext or the other, thereby forcing the applicant to physically visit the office, the study said. “Services accepted through the physical appearance of applicant led to corruption,” it stressed.
The report said the Mission is like a monitoring body which carries out data collection. “The Mission cannot initiate any action against defaulting officers,” it added.
Compensation needs to be paid to the affected applicant in case of delay. Due to the meagre amount, most people are not claiming it, the report said. Out of a corpus fund of Rs 5 crore, only a mere sum of Rs 84,180 was given as compensation, it pointed out.Lack of infrastructure and manpower also hampered efficient functioning of Sakala.
Sakala takes 21 days, middlemen promise it in 3 days !
Administrative Officer of Sakala Mission K Mathai said that middlemen tell public they can deliver the job speedier than Sakala and goad people to pay up. Recalling an inspection he conducted at Hassan and the scenes he witnessed at the Municipal City Corporation office, Mathai said, “While many services under Sakala are offered in 21 days, middlemen tell the commoner that they could get it done in 3 days.” Later based on real time taken, most Sakala services are now given a delivery deadline of 8 days. Responding to the findings on Sakala presented, Mathai said, “My report to the CM on the state of affairs in Sakala Mission in April 2017 stands vindicated today.” Mathai’s report also spoke of alleged misuse of funds by Mission Director G Kalpana, which resulted in her removal from the post.