Govt takes serious view, asks Admn Secys to strictly monitor progress
Websites lack Citizen’s Charter even after issuance of SOPs
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 2: Several departments of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are not furnishing monthly reports on the implementation of the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) to the General Administration Department despite repeated directions in this regard.
Moreover, the websites of many departments are lacking Citizen’s Charter even after issuance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) four months back for ensuring continuous and concurrent updation.
Taking serious note of this, the General Administration Department, on the instructions of Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, has directed all the Administrative Secretaries to strictly monitor the implementation of Public Services Guarantee Act and publish Citizen’s Charters in respect of their departments by June 20, 2021.
The Public Services Guarantee Act is aimed at providing delivery of services by the Government departments to the people within the specified time limit and to ensure implementation of legislation in letter and spirit the Rules have also been framed.
Rule 17 of the J&K Public Service Guarantee Rules, 2011 states: “The Government may issue directions from time to time for effecting implementation of the provisions of the Act, superintendence of the cases filed under the Act and for the inspection of the offices of the First Appellate Authority, Second Appellate Authority, Revisional Authority and Drawing and Disbursing Officers”.
Moreover, the Rules provides for the Government to review services notified under the Act after every six months and include or exclude any service.
While exercising powers conferred under Rule 17, the Government had issued directions for furnishing of monthly reports by the departments on the implementation of the Act. However, several departments are not ensuring strict compliance to this direction, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“In a meeting of the Administrative Secretaries chaired by the Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta it came to the fore that several departments have not furnished the reports for the months of February, March, April and May 2021 without any plausible reason”, they informed, adding “due to this the General Administration Department is not in a position to ascertain the progress made in the disposal of applications received from the public for availing the services from the departments”.
Moreover, in utter disregard to Rule 17, neither the Government has reviewed the services already notified under the Act during the past quite long time nor it has held discussion on inclusion of more services.
It is pertinent to mention here that last time the inclusion of more services under Public Service Guarantee Act was made in October 2018. “Even no attention is being paid towards inspection of the offices of the First Appellate Authority, Second Appellate Authority, Revisional Authority and Drawing and Disbursing Officers”, sources informed.
Taking serious note of non-furnishing of monthly reports on the implementation of PSGA, the General Administration Department has directed all the departments to ensure strict compliance to the instructions and provide notified services as per the prescribed timelines.
“There is a need to effectively disseminate information regarding details of services being provided by various Government departments”, the Commissioner Secretary to Government, General Administration Department Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said in a circular.
The Government has also noticed that websites of several departments are lacking the Citizen’s Charter, which otherwise is imperative to provide information to the public about the mandate of the department along with its services including procedures, standards, quality and time-frame etc and details of grievance redressal mechanism and how to access the same.
This is notwithstanding the fact that in the month of February this year, the Government had issued Standard Operating Procedures for continuous and concurrent updation of official websites.
“The website should clearly indicate the subjects assigned to the department by mentioning its mission, vision, objectives, its Citizens Charter and a roadmap of how it intends to achieve all its objectives and envisaged outcomes may also be given”, the Government had clearly mentioned in the SOPs.
Taking serious note of this aspect, the Government has directed all the Administrative Secretaries to ensure posting of Citizen’s Charter on the websites of the departments under their control by June 20, 2021.
“Now it is to be seen whether the latest instructions bring any improvement or the same would meet the fate of directions issued in the past”, sources remarked.
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