JOIN US Soon, citizens will be compensated for delay in services as the city government has passed the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill, 2015 in the Assembly on Thursday.
In all, 371 services like birth and death certificates, marriage certificates and OBC certificates will be covered under the bill, which aims to strengthen the Delhi government’s e-governance initiative.
“The amendments passed by the Delhi Assembly intend to fix the responsibility on the officer(s) responsible for the delay and recover the amount following due procedure,” said Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai.
Every department has been asked to put out comprehensive citizens’ charter and the onus of delivering the service will be with the head of department.
Rai said that the citizens’ charter will increase transparency about the services being offered by different departments.
“Citizens will not have to claim the compensation, rather the public servant will have to pay for delay in providing services,” he added.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was not present in the Assembly, applauded the House for passing the bill.
“Congrats Delhi. Del Assembly passes the Delhi (Right Of Citizen To Time Bound Delivery of Services) Amendment Bill, 2015 unanimously,” he tweeted.
“A huge victory in our fight against corruption. It is beginning of end of cutting edge corruption that aam admi faces daily in his life. I wish i cud be present in assembly today. Was indisposed due to fever,” he added.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha Vijender Gupta criticised the bill, saying it has been brought in a hurry without in-depth preparation.
“There is no point in presenting a half-cooked bill. It only says that the compensation amount will be decided service-wise, department-wise or in general at a later stage. It does not serve any purpose,” Gupta said.
Also, Rai tabled the minimum wages and working journalists bills. Defaulters will be fined Rs 50,000 or imprisoned for three years for not paying minimum wages to labourers, according to the Minimum Wages (Delhi Amendment) 2015 Bill being tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.