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About

• BJP  government has promised to set up Citizen charter for all the panchayats in its manifesto.

About Citizen Charters:

• The Citizens' Charters idea is a response to the desire for solutions to the challenges that a citizen experiences on a daily basis when engaging with government agencies.
• Citizens' Charter is a concept that enshrines the relationship of trust between the service provider and its users.
• In 1991, the concept was initially defined and put into practise in the United Kingdom.

Principles of Citizen Charters:

• Quality: Improving the quality of services.
• Choice : Wherever possible.
• Standards :Specify what to expect and how to act if standards are not met.
• Value: For the taxpayers money.
• Accountability : Individuals and Organisations.
• Transparency.

Importance of Citizen Charters:

• To make government more accountable and accessible to citizens.
• To ensure transparency in transactions.
• To improve customer service by making government responsive.
• To take a stakeholder-oriented strategy.
• Both the administration and the citizens' time will be saved.

Problems in Citizen Charters:

• One size fits all: There is a tendency for all offices under the parent organisation to have a uniform CC. All Ministries and Departments have yet to implement CC. This ignores local concerns.
• Operations in silos: In the vast majority of cases, there are no participatory processes in place, and it was not developed through a consultation process with cutting-edge personnel who will eventually implement it.
• Non-Dynamic: Because charters are rarely revised, they are a one-time exercise that is frozen in time.
• Poor design and content: a lack of meaningful and succinct CC, as well as important information that end-users require in order to hold agencies accountable.
• Lack of public awareness: Because adequate attempts to communicate and educate the public about the standards of delivery guarantee have not been done, only a tiny fraction of end-users are aware of the commitments made in the CC.
• End-users, civil society organisations, and non-governmental organisations are not consulted when CCs are drafted. Consultation with stakeholders is essential because the major goal of a CC is to make public service delivery more citizen-centric.
• Lack of Measurable parameters: Measurable delivery standards are rarely stated, making it impossible to determine whether or not the intended level of service has been met.
• Poor adherence: Organizations have demonstrated little interest in adhering to their CCs, owing to the lack of a citizen-friendly method to pay citizens if the organisation fails.

Way Forward:

• Wide-ranging consultations: CC will be formulated following broad internal consultations and a genuine collaboration with civil society.
• Process of participation: Include civil society in the process: to aid in the enhancement of the Charter's content, adherence, and citizen education on the relevance of this critical mechanism.
• Solid pledges must be made: Wherever possible, CC must be precise and make firm commitments to citizens/consumers on service delivery standards in quantifiable ways.
• Penal Provisions: In the event of a default, clearly state the remedy that the organisation is obligated to provide if it fails to meet the agreed delivery criteria.
• There is no one-size-fits-all approach to CC formulation: it should be a decentralised process.