Citizen Charter in India - GovtVacancy.Net

Citizen Charter in India

In the last two decades, there has been a satisfactory success in the direction of economic development in India. The literacy rate in the country has also gone up to more than 74 percent at present. This has increased awareness among the people about their rights and ways. Programs like 'Jago Grahak Jago' have been instrumental in bringing awareness toward consumer rights. In 1996, there was a consensus on the development of an effective and responsive administrative system in the Government of India. In a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on 24 May 1997,  an action plan was adopted for effective and responsive governance at the central and state levels.

 

In the Conference of Chief Ministers of various States and Union Territories (1997), it was decided that the Central and State Governments would prepare Citizens' Manifestos and these manifestos would be introduced in the areas of wide public interface such as railways, telecommunications, post, telegraph and through the public distribution system. These declarations were considered necessary to include the standards and timelines of the services. Thus it was expected that the Citizens' Charter should act as a grievance redressal mechanism. An initiative has been taken by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India to prepare, operate and coordinate the Citizen's Charter. The following are expected to be included in the Citizen's Declaration  :

* Vision and Mission Statement.

* Details of action and business by the organization.

* Customer, consumer details.

* Details of services to be provided to each customer group.

* Details of grievance redressal mechanism and access to it.

* Expectations from customers.

 

A  comprehensive website ( www.goicharters.nic.in ) on Citizen's Manifesto was launched by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on May  31, 2002. Three national banks, PNB, Punjab &  Sind Bank, and Oriental Bank of Commerce was selected in early 2000 for implementation of the Citizens' Declaration of  Standards.

 

Citizens' manifestos of various government organizations and agencies in India are evaluated by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and the  Consumer Coordination Council, a Delhi-based NGO, since October 1998.

 

Various regional seminars are organized in the context of capacity building of citizen manifestos in India. These seminars are organized at Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, etc.

 

Apart from this, Information and Facilitation Centers have been set up by some selected organizations which play an important role in the context of the Citizen Manifesto.

 

In order to ensure a more effective and meaningful role for Citizen's Charter, it is necessary that proper and adequate training should be given to the employees associated with the functions of the Citizen's Charter of any organization to deal with the inconveniences of citizens so that they become citizens in real terms. To realize the concept of centralized governance.