JOIN USMaking life hard for 'lazy' officials
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday asked people to exercise their rights in getting 116 services from 24 government departments and agencies under a legislation that makes babus liable to pay penalty to citizens for delay.
Dikshit said a staggering 55 lakh applications have been received by government departments from citizens so far, seeking various services under the provision of the legislation since it came into effect in September 2011.
Fifty-one lakh of them have been disposed of satisfactorily she said.
Addressing representatives of over 900 resident welfare associations, she said people must use the provisions of Delhi Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services Act to improve services of various Delhi government departments and municipal corporations.
According to the provisions of the legislation, officials are liable to pay financial penalty of Rs 10 per day up to a maximum of Rs 200 if they fail to deliver services like issuance of ration card, driving licence and electricity connection within the stipulated time-frame.
“People must exercise the provision of demanding penalty from officials if they fail to deliver the services within the set time limit.”
“We need to spread awareness about the provisions of the legislation so that errant and lethargic officials are punished,” Dikshit said at the workshop held at Talkatora Stadium.
According to her, this legislation is like a two-edged sword, which will punish errant officers for delay and also provide relief to applicants in the form of timely action.
The legislation has brought a “change in work culture” in departments as officials have come to understand the importance of time-bound delivery of services, she added.
Some 4,000 office-bearers of 910 RWAs from north, north-west and west revenue districts participated in the workshop.
Transport minister Ramakant Goswami, a number of MLAs and officials from various departments were also present.
Referring to the issue of security, Dikshit told the RWAs that they are free to install CCTV cameras in their areas and the expenditure can be met from the money provided to them by the government under ‘My Delhi I Care Fund’.
However, she said RWAs will have to take Delhi Police into confidence before installing CCTV cameras.
The city government provides Rs 5 lakh per district annually under the ‘My Delhi I Care Fund’. Apart from this, every RWA is also provided Rs 1 lakh each per annum to take up developmental activities.