New Delhi, Sep 15: Delhi transport authority officials are gearing up to renew driving licences in a day's time, discoms are now service bound to process your power connection application in not more than five weeks and you are entitled to get a birth/death certificate within seven days, reports Times of India.
With the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Act, 2011 becoming a law on Thursday, Delhiites are now empowered to get compensation for delays in services rendered by 32 city departments and agencies.
These agencies, which include the Delhi government, MCD, NDMC, power discoms and police, have entered into service level agreements specifying the time frame for delivery of each service provided by them. In time, Delhi government officials said, more departments services will be brought under the Act.
Officials who fail to process applications within the stipulated time will have to pay a penalty of Rs 10 per day up to Rs 200 per application. This amount will be deducted from their salary and paid to the applicant as compensation.
Delhi has also become the first state to have an e-monitoring system where citizens can track their applications and check for delays online. The Act was notified on Wednesday.
Under the Act, discoms have committed to deliver new electricity connections within 35 days. MCD and NDMC have entered into an agreement to provide birth and death certificates in seven days. The revenue department has committed to issuing domicile, income and nationality certificates within 21 days and so on.
"Every applicant will be issued an ID number which can be used to track their application online or at neighborhood Jeevan Centres. If their application is cleared, the status will show 'disposed' on the portal. If there is a delay, the penalty option will get activated," said information technology secretary Rajendra Kumar.
All departments have been asked to keep aside at least Rs 4,000 to begin with for payment of penalties. Competent authorities - officers of the level of deputy secretary - will have to be appointed by all departments for imposing penalties.
Under the Act, administrative action can be taken against officials who are habitual defaulters. The IT department will oversee the e-service level agreement (eSLA) portal. That the government proposes to take the SLAs seriously comes through in the fact that chief minister Sheila Dikshit and chief secretary P K Tripathi have been following up on the process of implementation.
On September 2, the chief secretary in an emergency meeting directed all heads of departments under the SLAs to monitor progress and appoint officials and appellate authorities under the Act. He also asked other departments to prepare a list of services to be included under the Act.
The Act provides for on-the-spot compensation to be paid to citizens who have suffered delay in service. The erring official will be served a notice within 15 days. The official will be expected to either deposit the cost of delay within a week or submit a representation to the officer concerned on why the delay took place.
If the reason for delay is found valid, the competent officer can issue notices to other defaulting officials, if any. The aggrieved official will also have the right to appeal to an appellate authority.
The Act calls for "appropriate administrative action" against officials who have more than 25 defaults in a year and an adverse entry in their service records. Efficient employees may get cash incentive not exceeding Rs 5,000.
The Bill was cleared by the Delhi assembly during the budget session in March this year. The government was dragging its feet on notifying it till the Anna Hazare agitation made corruption a hot social issue, prompting chief minister Sheila Dikshit to bring in the law.
