In Bihar, services on time a citizen’s right

For long the country’s heart of darkness on issues of governance, Bihar is now leading the way in innovative solutions to citizens’ problems.

After the ‘kiosk’ system, where people can register their complaints against authorities, the Nitish Kumar government has put in place the Right to Service Act (RSA) which makes it mandatory for the state government and its agencies to extend services to people within a stipulated time frame. Officials failing to meet the deadline could face exemplary penalty. The act comes into force from April 1.

“The act would make government officials accountable and help the government weed out corruption from the grassroots level to the top,” an official said. “Public servants could be fined Rs250 per day to a maximum of Rs5,000.”

Under the legislation, police verification report for passports must be completed within seven days; post-mortem report in three days; and caste certificate within a fortnight. The faults in electricity connection will be set right within four hours. The act covers 30 services.

“People will no longer need to run around offices and grease the palms of employees to get their work done after this act,’’ said Kumar. He also intends to constitute a state public service delivery commission to achieve the objectives of the act.