Citizen’s Charter

A Citizens' Charter represents the commitment of the Organization towards standard, quality and time frame of service delivery, grievance redress mechanism, transparency and accountability. Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, in its efforts to provide more responsive and citizen-friendly governance coordinates the efforts to formulate and operationalise Citizens' Charters. Various Central Government Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations have brought out their Citizens' Charters. With a view to ensure effective implementation of Citizens' Charter, Nodal Officers have been appointed in the concerned Central Government Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations.

• Nodal Officers
            Central Government

          State Government/U.T. Administration

• Citizens' Charters
            Central Government

           State Government

The main objective of the exercise to issue the Citizen's Charter of an organisation is to improve the quality of public services. This is done by letting people know the mandate of the concerned Ministry/ Department/ Organisation, how one can get in touch with its officials, what to expect by way of services and how to seek a remedy if something goes wrong. The Citizen's Charter does not by itself create new legal rights, but it surely helps in enforcing existing rights.

THE CITIZENS’ CHARTER : INDIAN EXPERIENCE

 Basic Concept, Origin and Principles

It has been recognised world over that good governance is essential for sustainable development, both economic and social.  The three essential aspects emphasised in good governance are transparency, accountability and responsiveness of the administration.  “Citizens’ Charters” initiative is a response to the quest for solving the problems which a citizen encounters, day in and day out, while dealing with the organisations providing public services.

The concept of Citizens’ Charter enshrines the trust between the service provider and its users.  The concept was first articulated and implemented in the United Kingdom by the Conservative Government of John Major in 1991 as a national programme with a simple aim: to continuously improve the quality of public services for the people of the country so that these services respond to the needs and wishes of the users.  The programme was re-launched in 1998 by the Labour Government of Tony Blair which rechristened it “Services First”.

The basic objective of the Citizens’ Charter is to empower the citizen in relation to public service delivery. Six principles of the Citizens’ Charter movement as originally framed, were: (i) Quality: Improving the quality of services; (ii) Choice: Wherever possible; (iii) Standards: Specify what to expect and how to act if standards are not met; (iv) Value: For the taxpayers’ money; (v) Accountability: Individuals and Organisations; and (vi) Transparency: Rules/ Procedures/ Schemes/Grievances. These were later elaborated by the Labour Government as following nine principles of Service Delivery (1998) :-

·         Set standards of service

·         Be open and provide full information

·         Consult and involve

·         Encourage access and the promotion of choice

·         Treat all fairly

·         Put things right when they go wrong

·         Use resources effectively

·         Innovate and improve

·         Work with other providers.

The Indian Scene

            Over the years, in India, significant progress has been made in the field of economic development.  This, along with a substantial increase in the literacy rate, (from 51.63% to 65.38% in the last decade) has made Indian citizens increasingly aware of their rights.  Citizens have become more articulate and expect the administration not merely to respond to their demands but also to anticipate them.  It was in this climate that since 1996 a consensus had evolved in the Government on effective and responsive administration.  In a Conference of Chief Ministers of various States and Union Territories held on 24 May, 1997 in New Delhi, presided over by the Prime Minister of India, an “Action Plan for Effective and Responsive Government” at the Centre and State levels was adopted.  One of the major decisions at that Conference was that the Central and State Governments would formulate Citizens’ Charters, starting with those sectors that have a large public interface (e.g. Railways, Telecom, Posts, Public Distribution Systems). These Charters were required to include standards of service and time limits that the public can reasonably expect, avenues of grievance redress and a provision for independent scrutiny with the involvement of citizen and consumer groups.

            Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in Government of India (DARPG) initiated the task of coordinating, formulating and operationalising Citizens’ Charters.  Guidelines for formulating the Charters as well as a list of do’s and don’ts were communicated to various government departments/organisations to enable them to bring out focused and effective charters. For the formulation of the Charters, the government agencies at the Centre and State levels were advised to constitute a task force with representation from users, senior management and the cutting edge staff.  A Handbook on Citizen's Charter has been developed by the Department and sent to all the State Governments/UT Administrations.

The Charters are expected to incorporate the following elements :-(i)  Vision and Mission Statement; (ii)  Details of business transacted by the organisation; (iii)  Details of clients; (iv)  Details of services provided to each client group; (v)  Details of grievance redress mechanism and how to access it; and (vi)  Expectations from the clients.

           Primarily an adaptation of the UK model, the Indian Citizens’ Charter has an additional component of ‘expectations from the clients’ or in other words ‘obligations of the users’.  Involvement of consumer organisations, citizen groups, and other stakeholders in the formulation of the Citizens’ Charter is emphasised to ensure that the Citizens’ Charter meets the needs of the users.  Regular monitoring, review and evaluation of the Charters, both internally and through external agencies, are enjoined.  Till April, 2006, 111 Citizens’ Charters had been formulated by the Central Government Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations and 668 Charters by various agencies of State Governments & Administrations of Union Territories.  Most of the national Charters are posted on the government’s websites and are open to public scrutiny.  The organisations with Citizens’ Charters are advised to give publicity to their Charters through such means as print/ electronic media and awareness campaigns.

Comprehensive Website on Citizens’ Charters

            A comprehensive website of Citizens’ Charters in Government of India (www.goicharters.nic.in) has been developed and was launched by the Department  of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances on 31 May, 2002.  This contains the Citizens’ Charters issued by various Central Government Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations.  The website provides useful information, data and links