Opinion The service motive
Karnataka has introduced a radical citizens charter that could transform access to government services
Imagine going to the governments electricity board to get an electricity connection sanctioned for your new home,then being given a number that lets you know exactly what your spot is on the waitlist. Imagine having to wait only a stipulated time (in countable days) for the service to be delivered and,if not,the official having to tell you in writing why you are being denied. Finally,imagine the sluggish or bribe-seeking official being penalised if the service is not delivered on time. Sounds like the model of good service,right?
Karnataka has announced a landmark initiative that,if implemented right,could turn this into a real scenario and,in the process,change the face of government services being delivered to the public. The draft of the citizens charter,called the Karnataka Citizens Services Guarantee Bill,has been approved by the Karnataka cabinet and will be presented for debate in the state legislature in its December session.
Urban Development Minister Suresh Kumar told this column that this will be the states flagship legislation for 2012 and could be implemented as early as the first quarter of next year. As a sample,birth or death certificates will take seven working days after application. Driving licences could be issued within 30 working days. Habitual defaulter officials will be penalised while those with impeccable service records will be given incentives.
Karnatakas move is in keeping with state governments across the country who,with a little push from not-for-profit organisations and civil society groups,are bringing measures that could dramatically alter the way government offices run.
In Karnataka,for instance,the Lokayukta has been an effective anti-corruption ombudsman,although it is now without a chief. Alongside,NGOs like I Paid a Bribe are monitoring and course-correcting government departments. Of all these,the citizens charter could be the most transformational. Government offices and departments will have to appoint grievance redressal offices to whom citizens can take their complaints if a service is not delivered within the stipulated time.
Alongside all this,Karnatakas new chief minister Sadananda Gowda is aiming to be people-friendly himself. Gowda wants his office to offer citizens service 24×7,and to receive complaints via personal delivery,telephone and email. The chief minister wants to install a video camera in his office that will stream all official transactions to the public. The chief ministers office will deal with every file within a stipulated 15-day deadline unless the matter has legal challenges.
The citizens charter,as a concept,is growing in importance with states like Madhya Pradesh and Punjab bringing in sporadic initiatives. But Karnatakas is pioneering because it is comprehensive and is to cover over a 100 services by a dozen departments,says Ramesh Ramanathan,co-founder of Janaagraha,a non-profit that works towards getting citizen participation in urban governance. I Paid A Bribe,the anti-corruption website,is a Janaagraha initative.
The key element in any citizens charter is in publishing data on the service levels,whether they meet the promises made and what the government is doing to plug the gaps. It is a great first step,and the government needs to translate intent to action,Ramanathan said.
The citizens charter,or in other words,the Right to Services,is more landmark than even the Right to Information Act,said Pranav Jha,who heads Praja,an organisation that networks citizens who can offer solutions to urban civic challenges. RTS is the real game-changer whereas RTI makes information available on services delivered,Jha said. Minister Suresh Kumar described RTS as a logical precursor to RTI.
But urban affairs specialists caution that the government needs to commit systems,training processes and funds to supporting the RTS rather than merely legislating it. Unless the government invests in managing the workflow,government officials will be under stress in managing the flood,Jha says.
On the horizon,citizens already see respite from long waits in endless lines,multiple treks to government offices and unpleasant interactions with bribe-seeking officials. Change may not come overnight,but it is on the way.
saritha.rai@expressindia.com
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