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PANJIM: The Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar, on Thursday said that the Goa Public Services Guarantee Bill, which seeks to make the state administration more accountable, would be tabled in the House on April 29.
Parrikar said that the Bill is similar to the Right to Information Act on many counts and the government officials would have to provide the service within a specified number of days, failing which they could be penalised. He said that all the detailed provisions would be notified later.
The chief minister told the House that the government would constitute a Delivery Commission through a notification for implementing the new Bill and achieving its objectives.
Parrikar was replying during Question Hour, wherein Bicholim MLA Naresh Sawal sought to know whether the public grievance service comes under any government law.
Parrikar clarified that the service currently has no legal support but with introduction of Goa Public Services Guarantee Bill, it would become a legal entity. He said that the Bill has been forwarded to the Law Department for vetting.
According to the reply tabled in the House, the Directorate of Public grievances, St Inez and Department of Public Grievances, Porvorim received 981 complaints from the public over the last three years.
The chief minister said that there has been rise in number of cases every year. Government received 196 complaints in 2010-11, 158 in 2011-12 and 637 complaints in 2012-13. “Almost 60 percent of cases have been cleared by my government,” Parrikar said and informed that the budgetary provision for the department has been increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore for the current financial year. In 2011-12 an amount of Rs 49,000 were spent by the department.
