Mandeep Sandhu takes charge as chairman of Pub govt's transparency commission

Senior IAS officer Mandeep Singh Sandhu today officially took charge as the new chief commissioner of Punjab's transparency and accountability commission.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sandhu. Additional Chief Secretary, Governance Reforms, N S Kalsi conducted the oath taking ceremony.

The chief minister asked Sandhu to accord top priority to prompt redressal of public grievances by ensuring services are delivered in a seamless and time-bound manner.

The appointment of Sandhu, a former additional chief secretary, will bring about greater transparency and efficiency in the delivery of citizen-centric services, which is in line with the state government's increased focus on governance and reforms, said an official spokesperson.

The Amarinder Singh-led state government had enacted the Punjab Transparency and Accountability Act after repealing the SAD-BJP government's Punjab Right to Service (RTS) Act, 2011.

The new legislation aimed at overcoming the shortcomings and weaknesses in the RTS Act, enabling back-end computerisation of public services and making online receipt of service requests a mandatory provision. Further delivery of electronic services to citizens in a time-bound manner was also included.