Gandhinagar, Apr 2: Gujarat Assembly on Monday passed a landmark bill aimed at providing time-bound delivery of certain public services to the people of the state and redressal of their grievances.
Finance Minister Nitin Patel introduced the Gujarat (Right of Citizens to Public Services) Bill, 2013 and it was later passed unanimously by the House with MLAs cutting across party lines supporting the legislation.
The Bill stipulates that the state government should notify the services and within what time limit they shall be rendered to every citizens of the State.
“Once this Bill takes the form of an Act, Gujarat can boast of having fulfilled the dreams of the leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who always sought to confer this right to the common people,” said Patel, while introducing the Bill.
Giving details of the different provisions of the Bill Patel said it provides for the appointment of designated officers, grievance redressal officers, designated authorities as well as the constitution of the state appellate authority.
“The Bill, inter alia, provides that if the relevant service is not provided within the prescribed time limit then the aggrieved person can file a complaint before the grievance redressal officer and further till appellate authority”.
The Bill empowers the designated authority and state appellate authority to impose fine on the officer responsible for rendering service and also on the grievance redressal officer acting in a ‘malafide' manner.
Though Opposition Congress did not oppose the Bill, they suggested increase in fine amount on the officer who fails to render public service in stipulated time.
“This Bill provides for a fine of Rs 1,000 on the officer found responsible for delay. But the Bill should have the provision for an exemplary fine,” said Congress Chief Whip and MLA from Sidhhpur Balwantsinh Rajput.
Another Congress MLA Tejashree Patel suggested that “as the Bill puts specific time limit on rendering public services, the government must fill the posts lying vacant in the state administration up to village level.”
She suggested that government should also add a provision which allows an aggrieved citizen to approach Lokayukta for seeking justice.
Congress MLA Anil Joshiyara congratulated the BJP government for bringing the Bill but also took a dig at it.
He said, “I am wondering that when Citizen's Charters were introduced in Gujarat way back in 1998 why it took these many years for the state government to bring a legally enforceable structure?”
