Bangalore: The Karnataka Government today
tabled a bill to provide for guarantee of services to its
citizens within a stipulated time limit.
The proposed bill, tabled in the Legislative Assembly by
Urban Development Minister S Suresh Kumar, provides for a
two-tier appeal for aggrieved persons to a competent officer
and the appellate authority.
A provision has also been made for payment of
compensatory cost to the citizens whose applications are
delayed and to recover the same from the defaulting public
servant and also for disciplinary action against such public
servants.
According to the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to
Citizens Bill, 2011, citizens shall be entitled to seek
compensatory cost in case of delay or default in delivery of
services beyond the stipulated time.
Every designated officer or his subordinate public
servant who fails to deliver citizen-related services within a
stipulated time shall be liable to pay compensatory cost at
the rate of Rs 20 per day for the period of delay, subject to
a maximum of Rs 500 per application, in aggregate, if there is
no ban or restriction from government to provide the same.
Within a period of 15 days of payment of compensatory
cost, the competent officer after conducting a preliminary
enquiry, shall issue a notice against the public servant found
responsible for the delay, seeking an explanation on why the
cost paid to the citizen may not be recovered from him.
The public servant against whom such notice is issued may
represent within a period of seven days from the date of
receipt of such notice.
If no such representation is received by the competent
officer in the prescribed period or explanation received, if
any, is not found satisfactory, the officer shall be entitled
to issue debit note directing such defaulting public servant
to either deposit the cost as stipulated in the debit note or
directing the Accounts Officer concerned to debit the salary
of the public servant for the amount.
There would be an approximate expenditure of Rs five
crore and recurring expenditure of Rs two crore per annum by
the proposed legislative measure.
PTI
