Sakala scheme: Over 1 lakh applications pending for disposal

There are at least one lakh applications pending under the Sakala scheme, which is meant to serve as an initiative for the timely delivery of government services to citizens. At least 50 per cent of these pending applications are between 3 and 9 months. According to government data, there are 1,00,424 applications pending, of which about 43,000 applications are pending for anywhere between one and six months. There are about 11,000 applications pending for more than a year.

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department has the highest number of pending applications with 33,000 applications waiting to be disposed of. Speaking to DH, government sources said nine departments including Panchayat Raj and Revenue among others, accounted for 80% of the applications. “Departments such as the Panchayat Raj are facing an overload of applications. Some departments are using a different software than that of the Sakala mission. Synchronising data has become a problem,” one official explained. There are also some policy issues. For instance, an applicant may not have paid the stipulated fee for services such as availing land sketches. These applications get stuck, the official
added. 

An official in the Labour Department added that the government needed to streamline the application process. “In our department, there are applications for which coordination is required with multiple departments. For example, when there are applications pertaining to marriage or delivery, it requires inter-departmental coordination. Also, many applicants are dependent on cyber centres who may not have filled in all the details,” the official explained. 

In a recent review meeting, revenue minister Krishna Byre Gowda directed the officials to ensure the speedy disposal of applications under the mission, while also pointing out that a huge section of the population was still unaware of the service. There are 1,115 services available under Sakala. The mission has been in force for the past 11 years. 

Sakala, or the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act, promises delivery of services within a stipulated period of time. Under the Act, every designated officer who fails to deliver services within the stipulated time is liable to pay a compensatory cost of Rs 20 per day up to a maximum of Rs 500.