Changing equations

The relationship between the citizen and the state in Punjab is set to change with the implementation of the Right to Services Act. This Act aims at empowering the ordinary citizen along with restoring his dignity in the changing environment. The Act covers 67 services in both the civil and police administration.

At the political level, the ruling Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance is hoping to at least partly blunt the anti-incumbency in the run up to the assembly elections due in February next. Perhaps the setting in motion of these reforms will up their popularity.

The Punjab Governance Reforms Commission was set up at the initiative of deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal. It is under the chairmanship of Pramod Kumar, a respected social scientist, and director, Institute for Development and Communications. The aim of the commission is ostensibly “to improve the welfare of the disadvantaged, marginalised, and deprived sections, and achieve good governance based on high ethical standards”.

The members include well-known social scientist Dipankar Gupta, Jawaharlal Nehru economist Atul Sood, and two retired civil servants — R. N. Gupta and Satwant Reddy. The implementation of the recommendations of the commission was set in motion when the state government issued a notification a few weeks ago to withdraw the condition of filing of affidavit in case of a record 87 services and replaced it with self-attestation. Bureaucratic lethargy was palpable at that stage itself, as it took some time for the message to percolate to the grass roots.

The functioning of the police and the police stations is being streamlined and made transparent, as part of these reforms. The first political attack on this otherwise pro-people agenda of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance government came from former chief minister and state Congress chief, Amarinder Singh, who said, “This is nothing but non-sense”. Interestingly, in a letter to the state chief secretary, S C Aggarwal, the IAS Officers Association president, Sarvesh Kaushal, had expressed certain reservations on the governance reforms, which has become the main agenda in the state’s political circles.

The commission has so far submitted three reports on the basis of which the Rights to Services Act has been set in motion. This includes services from the departments of revenue, local self-government, electricity, police, food and civil supplies, health and transport.

The aim is to ensure delivery of services as the right of citizens. Of course, states like Madhya Pradesh have already taken a lead, but the Punjab initiative is more comprehensive, and covers more services, which if not delivered, can result in penalties on the erring government officials. To make the delivery of these services harassment and corruption free in rural areas, 3,037 gram centres would be set up.

The e-services to be provided include delivery of old age pension, registration of pension cases for handicapped and widows and disabled persons. The state government, as part of the drive to streamline the functioning of the police and police stations where common people face the maximum harassment, is in the process of setting up a network of community policing centres, making Punjab the first state in the country to implement community policing at such a large scale and in an institutionalised manner.  Around 400 centres would provide counseling services to resolve disputes related to domestic violence, dowry, and other crimes related to women.

These centres would also have the facility for lodging complaints against the working of the police and the transparent disposal of these complaints. There would also be a victim relief centre which would include first aid facility and free legal aid to the poor. Other services include providing copies of FIRs, no objection certificates for armed licences, permission for religious and political processions, verification of tenants and registration of servants. Smart pre-election moves, it would have to be said.