3-month-old cases cleared in one day after Mayor’s rebuke
Shivani Bhakoo
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, December 10
Showing lack of concern to the Right to Service Act, under which services are provided to citizens within five days ( such as TS 1 certificate), around 130 applications for the TS 1 certificate from Zone A are pending for the past three months. After a strict stand taken by Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria last evening that all pending cases should be cleared within 24 hours, the applicants have heaved a sigh of relief.
Around 130 applicants have sought the TS 1 certificate from the Zone A office. Many of them were repeatedly asked to revisit again. “I had to take a loan to start business for my son. I applied for the TS 1 certificate about two months ago, thinking that it will be issued with 10 days. I was asked to do the rounds of the office, still work has not been done. And then a person advised me to grease the palms of the dealing staff if I wanted to get the certificate soon. But I refused to bow to the pressure tactics of the staff. I am happy that I got the document, though after much delay,” said an applicant from Saban Bazar.
Meanwhile, the Mayor said he was getting complaints by residents that staff were not cooperating with them and the certificate was not being issued on time. “The state government has offered this facility for the public and we are bound to provide the service within the stipulated time. But here, unnecessary delay was done by the staff and I came to know that a particular clerk was not clearing the files. I called the clerk and asked him to clear all papers within 24 hours or else be ready to face suspension. All pending cases were cleared late last evening by the clerk,” the Mayor said.
Gohalwaria also said he had asked the superintendents of the other zones as well to clear the pending cases immediately, if any. “People face problems as without the TS 1 certificate, they can not get loans and various registries done. The staff don’t realise the plight of citizens. They have to be taught a lesson,” said the Mayor.
