Soon, officers to face penalty for delay in govt services

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 21

Soon, residents will be able to get the their work done in a fixed timeframe as the Chandigarh Administration is all set to notify government services under the Right to Service (RTS) Act.

Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore has directed the officers to notify the services within this month.

Though the Administration had constituted the Chandigarh Right to Service Commission (CRTSC) around one year ago, the services are yet to be notified. The Act also has the provision for penalty on the designated officer for deficiency of services without any reasonable cause, which can range from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 or may recommend disciplinary proceedings. The applicant may be compensated out of the penalty imposed on the officer.

Sources said a presentation regarding the RTS Act was given to the Governor today. The officers presented the detailed plan of the services which will be notified in the first phase.

188 services of 4 major depts to be notified first

The Right to Service Commission has identified around 188 services of some major departments which will be notified under the Act in the first phase.

The departments, which will be covered under the Act, include Estate Office, Deputy Commissioner office, Chandigarh Housing Board and Municipal Corporation. These departments have fixed the timeline for the services under the Punjab Right To Service Act implemented on the direction of the Ministry of the Home Affairs. Under the Act, besides fixing the timeframe for delivery of all services, the departments will nominate designated officers, first appellate authorities and second appellate authorities to decide appeals against the delays in provisioning of service.

An appeal can be made from the order of the First Appellate Authority to the Second Appellate Authority, who can either accept or reject the application, by making a written order stating the reasons for the order and intimate the same to the applicant. The commission will hear applications against the orders of the Second Appellate Authority.