Over two years after the State government notified the Goa (Right of Citizens to Time-bound Delivery of Public Services) Act, 2013 – following a legislation by the Centre – in a bid to deliver public service in a time bound, decentralized and citizen friendly manner; its implementation across the government departments is caught in red-tapism.
The law, that would have given citizens legal entitlements to get government to deliver on time- thus bringing in vigilance, has till date failed to get even one service under it. What an irony.
The idea mooted way back in 2013 by the then Manohar Parrikar–led government had to wait for almost four years for Parrikar to once again assure the People of Goa that he will ensure that the Act is implemented in his current tenure.
It was the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi that introduced the Time Bound Delivery Service scheme giving citizens legal rights to secure proper and timely delivery of government services and benefits. Though, PM was clear that its implementation should not be dragged across the Country, what we saw in his own party led Government State- Goa- was reveres to his ideas.
Source said the government headed by Laxmikant Parsekar, who took over the reins of the State following Parrikar’s elevation to the Centre in November 2014 failed to take interest in the system, which if launched would have changed the face of State administration.
The Act is landmark legislation for Goa as it not only promises to provide citizens with time-bound services from government departments and public authorities, but will also come down hard on those government officials failing to meet the requirements. The Act was passed by the Goa legislative assembly on May 2, 2013 and assented to by the Governor on June 19, 2013.
“It specifies time limit within which designated officers of any government department or public authority must provide citizens the service they have requested. The time limit extends from three to 30 days depending on the nature of the services,” an official said.
Under the Act, each department has to specify the time limit for delivery of public services.
However, except for the Revenue department – that is gearing up to officially launch the concept next week, other departments dealing with different public services like the Town & Country Planning, Transport, Tourism, municipal corporations, power department, public works department, etc are yet to see the light of the day. While some departments are ensuring delivering efficient public service, albeit partially; it has largely failed to full-fledgedly implement the Act.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has even conceded that non-implementation has led to laxity in governance. “I have noticed that there is a lot of lethargy and laxity in governance. In order to tighten and streamline the bureaucracy, in propose to implement the Act ensuring time bound service to the citizens,” he said.
To bring in efficiency whilst also giving an alternative to employees to retire if they are not capable to handle the work pressure, the ruling coalition has also proposed to introduce special scheme for voluntary retirement. “The government servants who are not able to cope up with the expectations of the citizens and the government for various personal or work related reasons will be given an opportunity to take voluntary retirement. For this, special scheme for Voluntary retirement is proposed,” Parrikar said in the Budget speech.
“There are hundreds of services, such as issuance of driving license or ration card. We will cover some of the services and prescribe the time limit under which it has to be delivered by government official concerned. Later, we will cover all other services in phased manner,” a senior official at the secretariat confirmed.
Officer said that the Act has provisions to take action against officers who fail to deliver the services to citizens within the prescribed time limit. “The Act provides that if the relevant service is not provided within the prescribed time limit, then the aggrieved person can file a complaint before the grievance redressal officer and the appellate authority,” officer explained.
In generic terms, three defining indicators have emerged as main components comprising Transparency and Accessibility, Accountability and Timelines and Impact and Responsiveness of the Administration.
