Are You Being Served, Goa?
Goa has taken its time coming up with a public service guarantee law in the form of the Goa (Right of Citizens to Time-Bound Delivery of) Public Services Act, 2013, that was passed by the State Assembly earlier this month. The Act, like similar legislation elsewhere in the country, offers the hope that public service will be recognized as a right and officials and government servants failing to offer efficient, time-bound delivery of service, without a proper justification, can be taken to task by the public.
The public, i.e. we the people, can be forgiven if they would prefer to wait for the law’s actual implementation on the ground before expressing joy and jubilation with it. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar himself has said working out the nuts and bolts of ensuring time-bound systems within governance will take a few months and will be introduced in a phased manner. There is no doubt, however, that even the recognition that the public have a right to guaranteed service is a long overdue positive step, from a system that has treated government as a kind of overlord, and that has driven public resentment to explosive anger in the past few years.
Madhya Pradesh, followed by Bihar and several other States were the first to introduce legislation of this sort from 2010 onward. Goa’s 2011 Bill of a similar nature went before a select committee, where it stayed. The fresh legislation has similar provisions to other Acts elsewhere, providing for a two-tier appellate system, with punitive fines for non-delivery of service. Will it be enough to dramatically alter life for citizens approaching government offices for all manner of services, only time will tell. There will undoubtedly have to be improved supporting infrastructure to enable the law to work and officials to deliver.
A monitoring system of online applications and tracking systems could be worked out, under specific officials in departments that provide key services. With technology and will, improving service is not rocket science. The problem of artificial delays to facilitate bribe-taking is an endemic one, with some departments like registrars and land revenue arguably the most infamous. The State experimented with departmental citizen’s charters at one time. These soon fell dormant from disuse. The Chief Minister appears to be sincere about implementing the law, and his own work ethic is a good example in the main, but getting the bureaucracy to follow suit is the major challenge. Can performance-appraisal systems for each department, if not individuals, be ever considered for government services?
That is looking at a systems overhaul and in the realm of utopia for the moment. In Goa, like elsewhere, a government job is the most sought after career choice, going by the hundreds of applicants that line up for just five posts when advertised. The sixth pay commission has ensured that a government job is well-paid and “side earnings” are a huge bonus that is not turned down by many. The public in Goa pay a huge Rs 2,000 crore plus towards this bloated bureaucracy’s salaries and pensions. If the new legislation and its sincere implementation can change mindsets by introducing a fear factor, then there is some hope.
As it is the administration’s public grievance cell has been receiving an increasing number of complaints for which its budget has had to be enhanced. Filing complaints and following them through is a tedious procedure and much of the public simply give up, fall victim to bribe taking or use touts to get their work done. A system of facilitation personnel as tried out in some departments with some success in the past may be worth considering to undercut entrenched roadblocks within departments.
