Pune
Mirror: Pune: Wednesday, 05 November 2014.
Effort close
on the heels of CM Devendra Fadnavis's announcement to ready a citizen's draft
of the Right to Service Act within a month.
Right to
Information (RTI) activists in the city have got cracking. They will be roping
in law college students to prepare a citizen's draft for the Right to Service
Act or Public Services Guarantee Act, which may soon be in force.
This comes
close on the heels of an announcement made by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis
the day he was sworn in that the act would be ready within a month. The new CM
said the act would be introduced once a vision report, prepared by chief
secretary Swadheen Khsatriaya and mentioning the legal options that would be
available to people forced to endure ineffectual services, was ready.
The act aims
at providing basic services like the issuing of caste, birth, marriage and
domicile certificates to citizens and water connections within a pre-decided
stipulated time limit. It also aims at fixing accountability on officers in
case of inordinate delays. In Madhya Pradesh, the act was made in 2010 and
implemented since 2011. There, erring officers responsible for delays are
charged Rs 250 per day and the fine amount is cut from their salary. Bihar,
Punjab and Gujarat also implement the public services guarantee act.
Vikas
Kakatkar, vice-chairman of the governing body of Deccan Education Society,
welcomed the move to involve law students in preparing the draft. "As the
college reopens on November 20 after Diwali vacation, we will place this
proposal with the students' council and professors seeking their participation
in preparing the draft for the right to service act. It's a rare opportunity
for law students to take part in such an exercise," he said.
"The
Government Servants Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in
Discharge of Official Duties Act was made in 2005 and implemented in 2006.
However, through subsequent resolutions, the ambit of the said law was
weakened. For instance, in 2007, municipal corporations, councils and local
self-government bodies such as panchayats were excluded. There was no elaborate
penalty structure mentioned and resolutions were passed to mention that if
employees went on sick leave or involved in discharging other than their own
duties, they should be exempted from duties. Considering all this, the law had
lost its teeth. Now that the CM has announced that the law would be made, we
have a chance to submit our suggestions to make officials accountable and
insist on an elaborate structure to penalise erring ones," said RTI activist
Vijay Kumbhar, adding that activists would involve students in preparing the
draft as it would give them a chance to take part in the process of framing the
law.
Viddulata
Gawade, visiting professor at Marathwada and Wadia law colleges, said students
would get the rare opportunity to compare the right to service act enacted in
18 states and plug loopholes in the process to prepare a law suitable for the
state. "Nowadays, the opinion of experts is sought while preparing new
acts. Here is the opportunity for students to conduct research on the right to
service act implemented in other states and figure out the loopholes, too. This
research will help us prepare a draft that functions well for
Maharashtra," she said.
THEN AND
NOW
· Government
Servants' Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of
Duties Act (GSRTPDDDA) existed in the state since 2006. However, in the 2007,
municipal corporation, council and panchyats were excluded from this act
· In
2010, another act was made under the title of Maharashtra Municipal
Corporation, Municipal Council (Second Amendment) Act, 2010. Under this,
amendments were made in Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, Nagpur
City Corporation Act, Maharashtra Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat,
Industrial Township Act 1965
· In
2013, rules were made for the first act which are applicable to GSRTPDDDA; so,
these rules are not applicable to corporation and councils.
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