Day 70 – Q 1. What aspects should be covered by an ideal Citizen’s Charter? Do you think like RTI, Citizen’s Charter should also be made compulsory for public organizations?

1. What aspects should be covered by an ideal Citizen’s Charter? Do you think like RTI, Citizen’s Charter should also be made compulsory for public organizations?

Introduction:

Citizen’s/Client’s Charter is a document which represents a systematic effort to focus on the commitment of the Organization towards it’s Citizens/Clients in respect of Standard of Services, Information, Choice and Consultation, Non-discrimination and Accessibility, Grievances Redress, Courtesy and Value for Money. This also includes expectations of the Organization from the Citizen/Client for fulfilling the commitment of the Organization.

Body:

Following aspects should be covered by an ideal Citizen charter:

• Vision Statement- Vision implies the ultimate direction in which the organisation seeks to move.
• Mission Statement- The ‘mission’ statement provides the specific objectives which drive the organization in tune with its vision.
• Identification of Services- The Charter should clearly identify the services, which would be provided by the organisation to attain its mission and vision.
• Identification of Levels- in the Charter, there should be a clear identification of the levels at which specific services would be provided.
• Identification of Client Groups/ Stakeholders/Users- A clear understanding of the client groups/ stakeholders/ users by the organisations would be necessary for an increased interface with these in matter of policy and administration.
• Specification of Time-Frames for Each Service- There should be a clear commitment about the time-frame for delivery of specific services in the Charter.
• Specification of Time-Frames at Each Level- It is important that time-frames for service delivery are provided for each level at which specific services are delivered.
• Specification of Service Quality Standards- Charter must indicate the specific quality standards to which the organisation is committed.
• Specification of Service Delivery Standards- Charter should provide clear commitment on service delivery standards such as timeliness, access, accuracy, reliability, affordability, responsiveness, fairness, sensitivity, and courtesy in the delivery of service.
• Clear Information about Processes/ Procedures and contact points to Access Service Benefits- It is important that the Charter provides information about the procedures, contacts etc. involved in obtaining the service and facilitates the citizen/ client to obtain it.
• Clear Information about Information Facilitation Counters- The specific location of the IFC must be mentioned in the Charter. This will enable citizens know how they can get their queries settled.
• Providing Information about the Public Grievance Redressal Procedures- Awareness of grievances is the first step which an organization can take towards introducing correctives in its functioning.
• Information about the Time-frame for the Public Grievance Redress- Information about the time-frame of the grievance redressal should be an essential feature of all the Charters.
• Information about Procedures for Inviting Suggestions/ Inputs- Charter should invite suggestions from the public about the activities and functioning of the organisation.
• Information about Monitoring Mechanism to Ensure Compliance with Commitments- There should be clear information in the Charter about the monitoring mechanisms created by the organization in order to ensure that Charter does not remain merely a superficial document, with little capacity to ensure its own implementation.

Citizen charter be made compulsory

In favor:

• Timely delivery of services
• Grievance redressal
• Efficiency in attitudes of civil servants
• Accountability and enhanced people participation in the process
• Performance evaluation

Against:

• Need of manpower
• Need of ICT infrastructure and resources for its maintenance
• Diversion of department time from works of public importance
  

Conclusion:

Write a suitable conclusion.

Best answer: Ayush Dubey

A Citizen Charter is a document that outlines the commitment of a public body towards standard, quality and timeframe of service delivery along with grievance redress mechanism.

An ideal citizens charter must contain:

1. Vision and mission statement of the organization.
2. Information about the nature and quality of service delivery.
3. Time frame within which the service must be delivered.
4. Expectations from the client.
5. Grievance redressal infrastructure in case of noncompliance.

However, it has been observed that citizens charter has remained a toothless tiger due to lack of legal backing and no review or revision by the concerned department. It has been argued to provide statutory support to citizen’s charter. 

Argument in favor:

1.timely delivery of important service.

2. Improve ease of doing business.
3. Cultivate efficiency against the lax attitude of civil servants.
4. Improve accountability transparency and improve people participation thereby building confidence over institution.
5. Help in evaluation of institution performance.

Argument against:

1. Lack of manpower to adhere to such system.
2. Weak ICT infrastructure as well as trained manpower for efficient service delivery.
3. Department are already overburdened.

Hence it is important that statutory backing be provided to citizens charter on a limited basis over delivery of essential services. Slowly as other institutional and infrastructural reforms take place this statute can be extended to all departments.