Deptts asked to ensure such services on online mode first
Step to help in reduction of litigations under Act
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 9: All the services which have been notified under Jammu and Kashmir Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) are being brought under the ambit of auto-appeal system and with this application seeking service(s) will be automatically transmitted to the Appellate Authority in case of non-provision or rejection of service by the Designated Officer within the specified timeline.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that more than 250 services of different Government departments have been brought under the Public Services Guarantee Act ever since the enactment of Act in the year 2011 and in case of denial of services within the specified time-frame the applicants are required to formally approach the Appellate Authority.
“The practice of approaching Appellate Authority by formally filing appeal is required to be brought to an end especially when all the services of the Government departments are being brought on online mode by the end of the current month as per the directions of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta”, sources said.
Against more than 250 services already brought under the ambit of PSGA very few have been put on online mode by the respective departments as such the General Administration Department has written to all the departments asking them to put the PSGA services on online mode so that exercise of bringing the same under the ambit of auto-appeal system on the designated portal could be started and completed within shortest possible time-frame, sources informed.
It is pertinent to mention here that till the month of November 2022 only two services-issuance of birth certificate and issuance of marriage registration certificate were brought under auto-appeal system and the same was welcomed by the people largely.
In order to bring all the services notified under PSGA within the ambit of auto-appeal system, an amendment has already been carried out in the Jammu and Kashmir Public Services Guarantee Rules, 2011 and inserted Rule 3A states that services notified under Section 4 of the Act, which are bring provided online or by electronic mode by any department, shall automatically be transmitted electronically to the Appellate Authority in case of non-provision or rejection of service by the Designated Officer within the specified timeline.
“Bringing all PSGA services under auto-appeal system will go a long way in reducing the hassle of the applicants and ensure effective and time bound service delivery, help in capturing citizen feedback and reduction in litigation under PSGA especially when Government is notifying more services under the Act after regular intervals”, sources said.
In the month of October last year, the Government had brought 43 services of different departments under PSGA and this initiative same was welcomed by the people.
The Section 6 of the Act states: “Any person, whose application has been rejected under Sub-Section (4) of Section 5, or who does not receive the public service within the specified time limit, or where the service received by him is deficient in any manner, may prefer to file an appeal to such officer as may be notified by the Government to be the First Appellate Authority, within 30 days from the date of such rejection or expiry of the time limit or receipt of deficient service”.
The First Appellate Authority is supposed to dispose of the appeal within a period of 45 days from the date of presentation of appeal and the First Appellate Authority may direct the Designated Officer to provide the public service within the such time as it may specify or to remove the deficiency in the service provided to the appellant or pass such other order, including rejection of the appeal, as it may deem fit.
As per Section 7 of the Act, any person aggrieved by the order passed by First Appellate Authority under Section 6, may prefer an appeal to the Second Appellate Authority within 60 days from the date on which the order appealed against has been passed and the Second Appellate Authority is required to dispose of the appeal within 45 days.
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