AAP govt to discuss time-bound bill

Corpns, DDA to come under its ambit

Apart from Delhi government employees, officials of the three municipal corporations and the DDA will also come under the purview of a legislation to be presented in the Assembly on Monday by the Arvind Kejriwal government to assure time-bound services and compensation to citizens, sources said.

A provision for imposing a penalty of up to Rs 50,000 on errant officials by the designated authority may also get highlighted in the public-friendly legislation, an AAP leader said.

“The amendment in the Delhi (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Act 2011 is to ensure automatic calculation and payment of compensation to citizens in case of delay on the part of the officials to deliver a service like issuing certificates,” he said.

A provision in the Act of 2011 on lax officials, who fail to deliver a service within the stipulated period mentioned in the Schedule, said that such officials shall be liable to pay cost at the rate of  Rs 10 per day for the period of delay subject to maximum of Rs 200 per application, in aggregate, which shall be payable by him to the citizen as compensatory cost.

In cases of blatant corruption, the designate authority may impose a lump-sum penalty, including compensation to the complainant, on errant officials of up to Rs 50,000 which shall be recovered from the salary of the official.

Kejriwal has proposed to bring an amendment in the existing law so that  calculation and payment of compensation to aggrieved citizens will be the norm and not an exception, said the AAP leader.

Errant official
Non-filing of a compensation application by the aggrieved citizen will not be a reason for shielding an errant official from penalty, he said. 

“There will be automatic and mandatory compensation for people, doing away with the need to separately apply for it,” said an aide of Kejriwal.

On a number of occasions, Kejriwal has expressed shock that in four years since the act was enacted no claim for compensation was filed.

The bill to be presented on Monday is likely to provide that any individual aggrieved by a decision of the grievance redress officer concerned may, within thirty days, prefer an appeal to the designated authority who shall dispose of such appeal within 30 days from the date of receipt of such appeal.  The designated authority shall be from outside the public authority concerned.

The errant officials shall also be given a chance to explain his or her actions and the reply is not found satisfactory, the competent officer shall be entitled to issue debit note directing such defaulting government servant either to deposit the cost as stipulated in the debit note or directing the accounts officer to debit the salary of such government servant for the amount as mentioned in the note, said sources involved in the drafting of the amendment Bills.

There are a total of 371 services that shall be covered under the amendment bill and the payment of compensation to citizens is aimed to strengthen the Delhi government’s e-governance initiative.

Leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta of the BJP said Kejriwal was trying to take credit for something which has already been done by the previous government.

“He is taking credit for re-inventing the wheel,” Gupta said, adding that the amendment bill is the only one in the current Assembly session which has a prior approval for tabling from Lieutenant Governor.