Punjab to have Right to Service Act soon

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today disclosed Punjab would soon have ‘Right to Service Act’ to empower citizens to rightfully claim citizen services as their right, with a provision to penalise concerned government authority for denying or delaying the delivery of the concerned services to the citizens.

Badal said the Act was the natural extension of reform process initiated by the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government to provide hassle-free citizen services under one roof to rural as well as urban citizens of the state in E-grams, Fard Kendra, Suvidha Kendras and Saanjh Centres. He said citizen services to be covered by the Act were being identified by the government and soon Punjab government would come out with the draft notification of the Act.

He said the Governance Reforms Commission had given some useful suggestions and 3,112 e-sewa Kendra, 154 Fard Kendra, 330 Suvidha Kendras and 182 Saanjh Centres would be operational by June 2011 giving door-step services to the citizens. He said after the implementation of the act the citizens would be able to get these services as a matter of right.