BENGALURU: Senior KAS officer K Mathai submitted a report to the Chief Secretary on Monday urging him to establish Sakala Commission for enforcing compensation to citizens under Sakala Act. Sakala is a system to ensure time-bound delivery of government services.
In the report, Mathai, who had earlier filed a complaint against senior IAS officers, stated that from 2012 to 2014-15, citizens were paid compensation for delayed service.
But in 2016, not a single claim for compensation was honoured by officers concerned due to inherent system failure to enforce payment of compensation under Sakala Act. Therefore, Sakala Commission should be established and it should have suo motu powers to enforce payment of compensation on the pattern of Uttarakhand Right to Services Commission, he urged.
He suggested that compensation be increased from Rs 20 to Rs 250, on the lines of Uttarakhand Right to Services Act, 2011. At present, compensation of Rs 20 per day can be claimed under Sakala Act. But a citizen will have to incur a heavy cost to claim the compensation and as a result, many do not claim it.
However, those who claim compensation are made to run from pillar to post by designated officers. The competent officers/appellate authority also do not exercise effective control. The Mission Director of Sakala Mission also does not have any powers to intervene, he said.
He contended that periodical meetings/video conferences by the Mission Director with the district nodal officers and inspection by the administrative officer (AO) of Sakala could help in clearing overdue applications.
Reiterating many issues he raised in his 101-page report which he had submitted to Chief Secretary Subhaschandra Khuntia in April 2017, Mathai marked copies of his report to Principal Secretaries to CM, DPAR and all MLAs.
“I received the report on Monday. We will look into it,” the Chief Secretary told Express.
Report praises Shalini’s tenure
The report stated that the Sakala Mission did well under Shalini Rajaneesh’s tenure as Mission Director. However, after her transfer the system weakened. New initiatives were not carried out later and for the first time, AO was denied a vehicle which was authorized from inception of Sakala, the report stated. Also, the Additional Mission Director went on long leave without a replacement, further crippling the mission.