cover story
Institutionalising efficiency The proposed right to services legislation in some states of the country will make government officers pay for delay in service delivery. Will it really work?
By Pratap Vikram Singh
T
he experience of a common man while availing services to a government office, be it bank, utility departments or a local hospital, has not always been positive. This is unlike the private sector companies, which understand and value their customers, and where the productivity and innovation are the key focus areas, One always wishes if the attitude of the person sitting on the other side of the desk will change ever. It hasn’t changed much in the last 63 years of independence. The White conceded freedom to India and left the country after 1947, but their very seats were occupied by natives, who still continue to follow the legacy left by the British.
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The genesis
Proposed legislation
In United Kingdom, Prime Minister, John Major initiated a political resolution for improving the public services in July 1991, which is popularly called as Citizen’s Charter. The Charter aimed at making the administration accountable and citizen centric, ensuring transparency and easy access to information. It also puts forth measures to cleanse and motivate civil servants, besides adopting a stakeholder approach. Like many other countries across the globe, India too adopted the Citizen’s Charter approach to reform the legacy of the Raj era. However, the public administration in India didn’t go far in transforming itself, as UK and many other countries did.
In a move towards institutionalising citizens’ charter and cementing it under a legislative framework in the country, the Executive in some of the Indian states are trying to push through legislation on ‘Right to Services’, which would guarantee the delivery of government services within a stipulated time frame. It would be similar to some of flagship legislations, having a direct impact on governance [in terms of transparency and accountability], akin Right to Information and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme. It would seek to weed out the inefficiency and delay in decision making and establish accountability and efficiency in governance.