Akash Swain, Rakshak Intern from Delhi School of Economics working on Impact evaluation of Value Added Tax(VAT) under the guidance of Ms. V. Vidyavarth, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances observes the following: The Electronic Services Delivery Bill was formulated in 2011 as the successor to the groundwork laid down by the National e-Governance Program and seeks to bring efficiency and accountability into the functioning of the government and reduce the scope for corruption by minimizing human interface for availing government services. Salient features of the bill: • The EDS Act mandates all Central and State Government departments to switch to electronic delivery of public services within a period of 5 years from enactment, with provisions for extension of deadlines up to 3 years. • Within 180 days of enactment of the act, every department of the Central and State Government would have to provide a list of public services identified for delivery through electronic mode. There are two exceptions to this requirement: o Services that cannot be delivered electronically. o Services that public authorities, in consultation with the respective Electronic Service Delivery Commissions, decide not to deliver electronically. • Departments are required to furnish detailed plans on the manner electronic services will be made deliverable. • Each ministry will assess its readiness and accordingly fix a timeline for mandatory electronic service delivery. However, no department will exceed the cut-off date fixed for the country. • The Bill outlines the creation of Central and State Electronic Service Delivery Commissions which will be responsible for monitoring compliance of government departments and for hearing representations. o Central Commission: The Central Commission will be based in Delhi, with offices established in the rest of India, with the approval of the Central Government. It will consist of a Central Chief Commissioner and up to two central commissioners. The commissioners may not be appointed from amongst the members of Parliament, legislature or office-holders from any political party and must have no less than 25 years of professional experience in IT, management, public administration or governance. Furthermore, the tenure of the central chief commissioner is restricted to 5 years. o State Commission: The State Commission should consist of a state chief commissioner and up to two state commissioners who must also have at least 25 years of professional experience in IT, management, public administration or governance. The state commissioners may also not be appointed from amongst members of Parliament, legislatures or office-holders in political parties. • The Central & State Electronic Service Delivery Commissions are to be responsible for ensuring the delivery of services in the agreed upon time frame, and monitor the manner of delivery and quality of service. It is also responsible for periodic assessments of progress made by the central and state governments for delivering e-services, recommendations for simplification and restructuring of processes and forms, and monitoring the effectiveness of the feedback and grievance redressal mechanisms. • Every authority is required to notify a grievance redressal mechanism to address complaints related to (a) non delivery of services in electronic form; or (b) deficiency in the electronic services provided. In the first case, dissatisfaction with resolution may be taken up before the respective Commission. • The state and central commissions are required to generate and report annual reports detailing the progress made on implementation of provisions of the act during the previous financial year. Proper records are to be maintained so as to track and study usage statistics. These include number of electronic service requests received, number of requests fulfilled, number of electronic service requests in response to service provided in accordance with the applicable quality of service and prescribed details, and the number of grievances filed etc. • Given the widespread lack of access to electronic modes as well as the capability to harness them, provisions have been made to ensure assisted access to citizens. • The provisions of the Act will be applicable to all territories of the Union of India except for the state of Jammu & Kashmir. • Punitive measures to enforce compliance with objectives and deadlines. Officials may be fined up to Rs. 5000 for failure to adhere to norms, or even up to R. 20000 in case of persistent default.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 13:30:00 +0000
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