Citizen Charter Bill 2011

Citizen Charter Bill 2011

The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 is intended to prove its commitment to fighting corruption among government officers. The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 clearly outlines the responsibilities of government departments towards citizens - and how someone who is denied the service due to them can take action. The Bill is a step forward towards good governance. The concept of Citizen Charter was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1991 and subsequently was adopted by various countries such as Belgium (1992), Malaysia (1993) and Australia (1997). The salient features of the Bill are: I. The Bill seeks to create a mechanism to ensure timely delivery of goods and services to citizens. II. Every public authority is required to publish a citizen’s charter within six months of the commencement of the Act.  The Charter will detail the goods and services to be provided and their timelines for delivery. III. A citizen may file a complaint regarding any grievance related to: (a) citizens charter; (b) functioning of a public authority; or (c) violation of a law, policy or scheme. IV. The Bill requires all public authorities to appoint officers to redress grievances.  Grievances are to be redressed within 30 working days. V. The Bill establishes Central and State Grievance Redressal Commissions. Each Commission would consist of a Chief Commissioner and up to 10 Commissioners. The Commissioners would be appointed by the President (Governor) on the recommendation of a selection committee. This committee would consist of the Prime Minister (Chief Minister), the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and a sitting Supreme Court (High Court) judge. VI. A penalty of up to Rs 50,000 may be levied upon the responsible officer or the Grievance Redressal Officer for failure to render services. Complaint mechanism • Complaint: Any citizen may file a complaint for: (a) failure in delivery of goods or services listed in the citizens charter; (b) the functioning of the public authority; and (c) any violation of a law, policy, programme, order or scheme. Complaints have to be redressed within 30 working days. • Complaints have to be made to the Grievance Redressal Officer (GRO). GROs are to be appointed by each public authority at the central, state, district, sub-district, municipality and panchayat levels. The GRO is required to: (a) ensure that grievances are redressed within 30 working days; (b) ensure that disciplinary action is taken against a defaulting officer if he has acted negligently; and (c) recommend penalties and compensation where an individual has wilfully neglected to deliver services or there is a prima facie ground for a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The GRO has to inform the complainant about the action taken on the complaint. • Appeal: The orders of the GRO may be appealed before the Designated Authority (DA). The DA shall be an officer above the rank of the GRO and outside the concerned public authority. The DA shall dispose of appeals within 30 working days of their receipt. If a complaint with the GRO is not redressed within 30 working days, the GRO has to forward it as an appeal to the DA. The DA may penalize the defaulting officers. • Second Appeal: The DA's orders may be appealed before the Central or State Public Grievance Redressal Commission within 30 working days. Appeals relating to complaints arising out of functioning of the central (state) departments would lie before the Central (State) Commission. The Commissions have to dispose of the appeal within 60 working days. • Third Appeal: In relation to an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, an appeal against the decision of the Commissions shall lie with the Lokpal or the Lokayukta. • Suo motu mechanism: The Central and State Commissions can suo motu refer matters related to non delivery of goods and services to the heads of government departments. The Commissions may also initiate suo motu inquiry if they believe that there are reasonable grounds to inquire into the matter. • Complaints may also be made to the Commissions in certain cases. It is the duty of the Commissions to inquire into complaints by persons: (a) who are unable to file appeals before the DA; (b) who are refused redress of grievances; (c) whose complaints are not disposed of within 30 days; and (d) who are denied access to the citizens charter because it has not been prepared or has not been widely disseminated.