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| PSGA needs a commission to take off | | |
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Jan 31: It is now around two years since the J&K Government enacted J&K Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA). Omar Abdullah has been highlighting the achievements of his Government by frequently talking about the enactment of PSGA. In his Republic Day address, he said that his Govt enacted PSGA and RTI Act but the people hardly are using it.
But how can people take benefits of PSGA or RTI Act when hardly any awareness campaign is being undertaken at the Government level. Only a handful of people are using PSGA in the State. In addition to this, the biggest flaw in the PSGA is absence of an Independent commission on the pattern of State Information Commission (SIC) which has been constituted under the provisions of J&K RTI Act 2009. Under PSGA if a Government official fails to provide the services within the stipulated time he could be penalized by his senior officer who is the appellate authority as well but how is it possible that an official could penalize his own subordinate ?
The pre-requisite of good governance is that the processes and institutions produce results that meet the need of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. This means that all the stake holders in the society are to be served in a reasonable time frame. Delay in delivery system and the services is one of the methods of harassing citizens and forcing them to pay bribes. The experience of a common man while availing services has not always been positive and the enactment of PSGA could be one of the legislations which could help to overcome these impediments.
The Public Services Guarantee Act or PSGA guarantees the delivery of Government Services within the stipulated time and it provides for any person to demand and ask for performance and functions in accordance to the Act. The Government has notified about 45 services like death certificate, State subject certificate, birth certificate, caste certificate, mutation copy, ration card, electricity connection, water connection etc.
Now the CID verification too has been brought under the ambit of PSGA. Under this Act if the designated officer is not able to deliver the service within stipulated time the applicant can file 1st appeal before the first appellate authority who would look into the matter within a fixed time. If the first appellate fails to do so or if the applicant seeks to process his case further the applicant can file an appeal before the 2nd appellate authority. The 2nd appellate authority has to again dispose the case in prescheduled time. Failing to deliver the services on time, the designated official would be imposed with a penalty of Rs. 250 to 5000. If the 1st appellate authority fails to ensure delivery of service, without valid reasons , he will be liable for a fine of Rs. 500 to Rs. 5000. The Act also provides for paying the portion of the fine as a compensation for the affected eligible person.
But the legal experts and activists feel that hardly any official could be penalized in the present dispensation and there is a dire need of an Independent Commission to oversee the functioning of the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) . Last year the Chief Minister had hinted to constitute a commission under PSGA but till date nothing concrete has been done in this regard.
"It is useless to have an Act like PSGA where the powers of imposing penalty lie with a bureaucrat, how can a bureaucrat penalize his own man who works with him," said Advocate Mohammad Ashraf.
"We have hardly seen any officer penalized till date under PSGA and the reason is that there is no commission to oversee the implementation of the said Act. We need a separate commission for PSGA on the pattern of RTI Act in State," said Abdul Rehman a social worker from Hurshroo Budgam. |
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