Guarantee of services to citizens bill may put govt officials in trouble

At the public consultation organised by CIVIC Bangalore about the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Bill, 2011, Dr Shalini Rajneesh, IAS, principal secretary department of personnel and administrative reforms (DPAR) (AR) said that the high court will hold the government servants accountable if they fail to comply with the Bill.

The proposed Bill stipulates that citizens can file complaints against public servants if a commitment is not completed in a stipulated time frame. “It will essentially be a multi-layered system set-up, wherein citizens can lodge complaints if service is denied to them by junior officers,” said Rajneesh, adding that the senior officials will be in charge of monitoring the results.

“However, if, even after the second or third complaint, the situation has not be handled correctly, it can be taken to the high court,” she explained.

Citizens can also track their complaints online. “We will be setting up a public domain developed by the National Informatics Centre through which the government can track the success of various departments. The citizens will be given a specific login and password and will receive e-mails and SMSs with the status of their complaint. Ultimately, it is down to the citizens to make sure the system works by actively participating in the process,” she said.

Rajneesh explained that the government servants will be fined between Rs20 and Rs500 if found guilty of not completing a proposed service. “The compensation is really about creating stigma and trying to motivate them to deliver their service,” she added.

A commission that is similar to the Karnataka Information Commission is also likely to be set up to monitor the progress.
According to Rajneesh, there are currently about 90 services that will come under the proposed Bill. But, over time, it will be extended to other departments in the government.