NEW DELHI: New Delhi: Fourteen top officers of the government have suggested that a law be enacted to ensure delivery of government services to people within a time frame and fix the accountability of government officers handling their departments.
And if an official fails to act before the deadline, he or she should be penalised. The proposal, to enact a Central Public Service Delivery Act, according to sources, was given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the officers, including Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, have recommended its implementation by December 2018, months before the General Elections in 2019. It’s an idea that could change the way the public deals with the government.
“A Central Public Service Delivery Act should be enacted which would list various services, timeframes for their provision to citizens, and penalties in case of default. This act should also have an enabling provision for recovery of fines,” a senior official said.
Fourteen top officers of the government have suggested that a law be enacted to ensure delivery of government services to people within a time frame and fix the accountability of government officers handling their departments.
And if an official fails to act before the deadline, he or she should be penalised. The proposal, to enact a Central Public Service Delivery Act, according to sources, was given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the officers, including Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, have recommended its implementation by December 2018, months before the General Elections in 2019.
It’s an idea that could change the way the public deals with the government.
“A Central Public Service Delivery Act should be enacted which would list various services, time-frames for their provision to citizens, and penalties in case of default. This act should also have an enabling provision for recovery of fines from government functionaries in case they are found responsible for delay or non-provision of services to citizens,” top officers told the PM.
The UPA government had first proposed the right to time-bound delivery of goods and services to every citizen and penalty up to `50,000 on the defaulting officer and compensation up to the same amount to the applicant, which lapsed with the dissolution of 15th Lok Sabha.
Top officers, including Sanjay Mitra of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and J S Deepak of Telecom Ministry, suggested that while in short term, services could be provided through executive mandate, a Central Act was required to give citizens the right to receive services.
The officers’ recommendation suggested that Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, headed by Minister of State (MoS) for PMO Jitendra Singh, draft the new law.
“The challenges faced in the implementation of act in the states basically relate to providing the necessary capability building to the service delivery officers, their knowledge updation, streamlined processes, proper monitoring and attitudinal shift among government staff towards more transparent and accountable governance,” the note said.