Public Agenda - 5 November, 2011 | Bangalore | governance | law and order | Corruption | Review | Right to Services

Here is the full bill proposed by the GoK

THE KARNATAKA (RIGHT OF CITIZENS TO TIME BOUND DELIVERY OF SERVICES) ACT, 2011

A

          To provide for the delivery of the services to the citizens in the State of Karnataka within the stipulated time limit, including liabilities of the Government servants, in case of default and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

          Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Karnataka in the Sixty-second year of the Republic of India as follows:

CHAPTER-1

1. Short title, extent, commencement and application: (1) This Act may be called the Karnataka (Right of Citizen to Time Bound Delivery of Services) Act, 2011.

(2) It extends to the whole of Karnataka State.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification, appoint.

(4) This Act shall apply to all Government servants appointed substantively to any civil services or posts in connection with the affairs of the Government of Karnataka and to the servants of local bodies and authorities which are owned, controlled or substantially financed by that Government but shall not apply to:

(i)                persons appointed on casual or daily rate basis;

(ii)              persons employed on contract except when the contract provides otherwise;

(iii)            persons whose terms and conditions of services are regulated by or under the provisions of the Constitution.

2.  Definitions: In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:-

(a)      “Appellate Authority” means an Officer appointed by the Government or Local body, as the case may be, by notification, invested with the power to hear appeals against the orders passed by any competent officer under this Act;

(b)     “Citizen related services” include the services as specified in the Schedule;

(c)     “Competent Officer” means an Officer appointed by the Government or local body, under Section 9 of this Act, by notification, who shall be empowered to impose cost on the Government servant defaulting or delaying the delivery of services in accordance with this Act;

(d)     “Karnataka” means the State of Karnataka;

(e)      “Department” means a department of the Government or Department of a local body, as the case may be;

(f)      “Government” means His Excellency the Governor of Karnataka appointed by the President under Article 239 and designated as such under Article 239AA of the Constitution;

(g)     “Government servant” means a person appointed substantively to any civil service or post in connection with the affairs of the Government including, person working on deputation basis, and person appointed under a local body which is owned, controlled or substantially financed by that Government;

(h)     “Local Body” includes any public authority, Municipality, Town Planning Authority, Bangalore Development Authority or any other body or authority, by whatever name called, for the time being invested by law to render essential services of public utility within the territory of Karnataka or to control, manage or regulate such services within a specified local area thereof;

(i)      “Notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette;

(j)      “ Public Authority” means any authority or body or institution of self governance established or constituted (I) by or under the Constitution; (ii) by any other law made by Parliament; (iii) by any other law made by the Legislature of a State or Union Territory; (iv) by a notification issued or made by the Government; and includes (a) a body owned, controlled or substantially financed by the Government; (b) a non-government organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by the funds provided by the Government; and (c) an organization or body corporate in its capacity as an instrumentality of State as defined under Article 12 of the Constitution and rendering services of public utility in Karnataka.

(k)     “Rule “means a rule made by the Government under this Act, by Notification;

(l)      “Schedule” means the Schedule appended to this Act;

(m)    “Year” means a calendar year commencing on the 1^st day of January and ending on the 31^st day of December;

CHAPTER-II

CITIZEN’S RIGHT TO TIMEBOUND DELIVERY OF SERVICE AND PROCEDURE GOVERNING FIXING OIF LIABILITY IN CASE OF DEFAULT, ETC.

3. Right of citizen to obtain time bound delivery of services: Every citizen shall have the right to obtain the citizen related services in Karnataka in accordance with the Act within the time bound period as stipulated in the Schedule:

          Provided that the Government shall be entitled to amend and revise the Schedule from time to time by notification.

4. Liability of government servant to deliver services within the stipulated period: Every government servant shall be duty bound to deliver citizen related services as specified in the Schedule within the time period as stipulated in the Schedule.

5. Monitoring the status of application: (1) Every citizen having applied for any citizen related services shall be provided an application number by the concerned Department or local body, as the case may be, and shall be entitled to obtain and monitor the status of his application online in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed.

(2) The Department or local body, as the case may be, shall maintain status of applications governing citizen related services online and shall be duty –bound to update the status of the same as per the procedure as prescribed by rules in this regard.

6. e-governance of services through mutual understanding: The Government shall endeavor and encourage all the departments, local bodies and authorities of the Government to enter by mutual understanding to deliver their respective citizen related services in a stipulated time period as part of e-governance.

7. Liability to pay cost: Every Government servant who fails to deliver the citizen related services to citizen within the stipulated time as stipulated in the Schedule, shall be liable to pay cost at the rate of ten rupees per day for the period of delay subject to maximum of two hundred rupees per application, in aggregate, which shall be payable by him to the citizen as compensatory cost.

8. Payment of Compensatory cost to the citizen: At the time of delivery of citizen related services, the citizen having applied for such services shall be entitled to seek compensatory cost in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the Rules made there under, in case of delay in the delivery of such services, beyond the period prescribed in the Schedule.

9. Appointment of Competent Authority: (1) The Government and in case of a Local Body, the Local Body concerned, shall appoint, by notification, an Officer not below the rank of Deputy Secretary or its equivalent rank in the case of local body to act as competent Officer empowered to impose cost against the government servant defaulting or delaying the delivery of services in accordance with this Act.

(2) The Government or the Local Body concerned, as the case may be shall for the purpose of payment of cost, confer on the competent officer the powers of drawing and disbursing officer in accordance with the law, procedure and rules applicable.

(3) On such demand of compensatory cost by the citizen at the time of delivery of citizen related services, it shall be the duty of the competent officer to pay such cot to the citizen against acknowledgement and receipt as per the format prescribed in the Rules.

10. Procedure governing fixing of liability: (1) Within a period of fifteen days of the payment of such compensatory cost, the competent officer, after conducting preliminary enquiry, shall issue a notice against the government servant found responsible for the delay in delivery of such citizen related services, calling upon him as to whythe compensatory cost paid to the citizen may not be recovered from him.

(2) The government servant against whom such notice is issued may represent within a period of seven days from the date of receipt of such notice. In case no such representation is received by the competent Officer within the prescribed period or the explanation received, if any, is not found satisfactory, the competent Officer shall be entitled to issue debit note directing such defaulting government servant either to deposit the cost as stipulated in the debit note or directing the accounts Officer concerned to debit the salary of such government servant for the amount as mentioned in the debit note:

          Provided that if competent Officer finds reasonable and justified grounds in favour of such government servant and comes to the conclusion that the delay in the delivery of services to the citizen was not attributable to him but was attributable to some other government servant, it shall be lawful for the competent Officer to withdraw the notice against him and issue fresh show cause notice to such other government servant as found responsible for the delay and shall follow the procedure mutatis-mutandis as stipulated in this sub-section and subsection (1) of the Section.

(3) While fixing the liability under this Act, the competent Officer shall follow the principles of natural justice before passing the order in that respect.

CHAPTER-III

RIGHT OF APPEAL AGAINST THE ORDER FIXING LIABILITY

11. Right of appeal (1) Any government servant aggrieved by the order passed by the competent officer in accordance with Sections 9 and 10 shall be entitled to file an appeal to the Appellate Authority against such order within a period not exceeding thirty days of the receipt of the impugned order. The order of the Appellate Authority shall be final and binding.

(2) For the purpose of this Section, the Government or the local body concerned, as the case may be, shall appoint an officer to be the Appellate Officer to hear and decide appeals against the order passed by the competent Officer. The Appellate Officer shall not be below the rank of Joint Secretary of the Government or its equivalent rank in the case of a local body.

CHAPTER-IV

MISCELLANEOUS

12. Developing culture to deliver services within fixed period: (1) The defaults on the part of government servant in the time bound delivery of citizen related services as defined in this Act shall not be counted towards misconduct as the purpose and object is to sensitize the public servant towards the citizen and to enhance the imbibe a culture to deliver time bound services to the citizens.

(2) In case of habitual defaulter, the competent officer shall be competent to take appropriate administrative action after recording a finding to this effect but not before giving a show cause notice and opportunity of haring to the defaulting servant.

          Explanation: For this purpose of this sub-section, a government servant shall be deemed to be habitual defaulter in case he incurs more than twenty five defaults in a year.

(3) To encourage and enhance the efficiency of the government servants, it shall be lawful for the competent officer to recommend cash incentive not exceeding five thousand rupees in aggregate in favour of a government servant against whom no default is reported in one year. On such recommendations, the Government or the Local Body concerned, as the case may be, shall be competent to grant such incentive as it deems fit and proper, not exceeding the amount as recommended by competent officer, along with certificate of appreciation.

13. Deemed service condition: The Provisions of this Act shall be deemed to be part of service conditions of government servants including such servants of local bodies of the Government.

14. Supplement: The Provisions of this Act shall be supplemented to the disciplinary and financial rules and such services rules and regulations as applicable to the employees of the Government or the local body concerned as the case may be, and not in derogation to such service rules and regulations governing the service condition and conduct of the government employees or the employees of the local body concerned.

15. Power to make rules: (1) The Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such Rules may provide for all or any of the following matters namely:-

(a)   the manner and the forms of giving notice under this Act;

(b)  the procedure governing preliminary enquiry and adjudication by the competent officer governing fixing of liability of cost;

(c)  the Procedure governing adjudication of appeals by the Appellate Authority;

(d)  the procedure pertaining to application governing citizen related services;

(e)   the Procedure governing generation of application number online;

(f)    the Procedure governing managing, maintaining, operating of online status of the applications of citizen related services;

(g)  any other matter which is required to be or may be prescribed.

(3) Every Rule made under this Act by the Government shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the both the Houses of Karnataka Legislature, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if before expiry of session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, the Legislature agree in making any modification in the rules or agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the rule.

16. Power to remove difficulties: (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may by Order published in the official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulties. Provided that no such orders shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the date of commencement of this Act.

(2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be, after it is made , be laid before the both the Houses of Karnataka Legislature.

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