Kohima, June 9 (MExN): President of Nagaland Voluntary Consumers’ Organisation (NVCO), Kezhokhoto Savi presented on ‘Public Services Delivery Act’ at the ongoing one month training on social audit accountability and social audit under MGNREGA for Block Resource Persons. The training is being held from June 5–July 7 at SIRD conference hall, Kohima.
Savi stated that every citizen is entitled to hassle-free public services and redresses of his grievances. “Accordingly, the Right to Public Services Act represents the commitment of the particular state towards standard, quality and time frame of service delivery, grievances redressal mechanism, transparency and accountability,” he added.
According to a press release from NVCO press & media cell, Savi noted that Right to Public Services legislation in India comprises statutory laws which guarantee time-bound delivery of various public services rendered to citizens and provides mechanism for punishing the errant public servant if they are deficient in providing the stipulated services.
“If the concerned officer fails to provide the service in time, he will have to pay a fine. Thus, it is aimed to reduce corruption among the government officials and to increase transparency and public accountability.”
Stating that public officials and civil servants are currently considered “one of the troubled sections of our society due to their slow and painful process in performing their duties,” the NVCO president added, “As a result, the common man, who is entitled to avail hassle-free public services and information thereof, has to face a lot of problems and pay bribes to avail the needed public services.”
Therefore, the buzz against corruption is now matched by right to services related initiatives by several governments to clean up the system, he said.
It was further informed that the government also intends to constitute a state public service delivery commission to achieve the objectives of the act. “Thus, this act makes government officials accountable and help the government weed out corruption from the grassroots level to the top.”
Savi pointed out that Nagaland State government is yet to enact the Right to Public Services Act/law.
NVCO launched Public Services Delivery campaign during the 2016 Vigilance Awareness Week and since then it has been continually make an appeal to the State government to introduce similar legislation for effective public service delivery to its citizens in the state and to also curb corruption in the state government functionaries, he further stated.
The present State government, he asserted, “cannot be excused for financial constraint as the PDA (People’s Democratic Alliance) has already drained the state exchequer by appointing people of their choice and mere party workers who do not hold any status in the government to the ranks of commissioner/ secretary/ jt. secretary/ class gazetted officers and had also promoted non-legislators party workers to the ranks of cabinet and state ministers by totally ignoring the provisions of the Constitution of India.”
