• UGI USER
  • Aug 01, 2023
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Q. Explain the idea behind the introduction of citizen’s charters in India. Also, discuss the problems faced in their implementation.

Approach:

  • Provide a brief background on the evolution of the concept of citizen charter in India.
  • Explain the idea/rationale behind the adoption of the concept.
  • Highlight the problems faced in its implementation.
  • Conclude with a way forward.

Answer:

The concept of citizen charter evolved in the UK with the aim of making service delivery more accountable, transparent, participative and responsive to the needs of the citizens. In India, in a Conference of Chief Ministers in 1997 presided by the Prime Minister, a decision was made to formulate citizen charter at center and state level. Initially, Citizen Charters were prepared for sectors with a large public interface (e.g., Railways, Telecom, Posts, PDS).

The basic idea behind introduction of citizen charter in India was, therefore, to:

  • Emphasize the use of market mechanism as an administrative technique, which is a more flexible, cost conscious and decentralized style of public service management.
  • Emphasize upon consumer populist variants in which individual service users exert pressure on public service managers and professionals to raise standards through the exercise of informed choice and ensure timely public service delivery.
  • Bring citizens at the center of all government activities changing the prevalent concept of treating the citizens as passive recipients of Government service, thereby bringing a cultural change in the attitude of bureaucracy.
  • Revamp people’s faith and confidence in the administration by providing effective channels for independent scrutiny and redress of citizen’s grievances.

However, the implementation of citizen charters faced a lot of roadblocks, such as:

  • Top-down approach: The general perception of organizations is that the exercise is to be carried out because there was a direction from above. The consultation process with the consumers and other stakeholders remained largely absent.
  • Lack of training: No funds are earmarked for sensitization and training of officials and thereby, the service providers are often not familiar with the philosophy, goals and main features of the Charter.
  • Lack of standardization: The standards of services mentioned in Citizen’s Charter are either too lax or too rigid.
  • Poor awareness: Awareness campaigns to educate clients about the Charter are not conducted systematically. Further, information brochures, publicity materials, pamphlets produced by the organisations are mistaken for Citizen’s Charters.

The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission has provided a range of recommendations for effective implementation of citizen charter in India. These include- earmarking funds for awareness and training, wide consultation process and benchmarking using end-user feedback