2. citizens charters-undef

8/12/2019 2. Citizens Charters-UNDEF

1/21

Deepening Local Democratic Governance through Social

Accountability in Asia

CITIZENS CHARTER

I. Introduction

As public services are funded by citizens, either directly or indirectly, they have the right

to expect a particular quality of service that is responsive to their needs and which isprovided efficiently at a reasonable cost. The Citizens Charter is a written, voluntarydeclaration by service providers that highlights the standards of service delivery that theymust subscribe to, availability of choice for consumers, avenues for grievance redressaland other related information. t is a useful way of defining, with sta!eholderinvolvement, the nature and quality of service delivery. n other words, a CitizensCharter is an expression of understanding between the citizen and the service providerabout the nature of services that the latter is obliged to provide. t is a response to thequest for solving the problems, which a citizen encounters, day in and day out, whiledealing with the organisations providing public services. The concept of Citizens Charterenshrines the trust between the service provider and its users.

The ma"or ob"ectives of the Citizens Charter are to give priority to customers, ma!e thepublic service transparent and accessible, reduce red#tape and delay, ma!e the$overnment more accountable, provide all necessary information to customers and ma!eservice providers responsive to clients needs %&sborne '((() Torres '((*+.

The concept was first articulated and implemented in the nited -ingdom by theConservative $overnment of ohn /a"or in 0110 as a national programme with a simpleaim2 to continuously improve the quality of public services for the people of the countryso that these services respond to the needs and wishes of the users.

The -s Citizens Charter initiative aroused considerable interest around the world andseveral countries implemented similar programmes e.g. Australia %3ervice Charter,0114+, 5elgium %6ublic 3ervice sers Charter 011'+, Canada %3ervice 3tandardsnitiative, 0117+, 8rance %3ervice Charter, 011'+, ndia %Citizens Charter, 0114+, amaica%Citizens Charter 0119+, /alaysia %Client Charter, 011*+, 6ortugal %The :uality Charterin 6ublic 3ervices, 011*+, and 3pain %The :uality &bservatory, 011'+ %&;Cew


2/21



and nion Territories. n fact, all the draft Citizens Charters proposed or submitted byCentral $overnment ministries, departments or organizations, are scrutinized andapproved by the so#called ?Core $roup on Citizens Charter for which the Additional3ecretary of the


3/21



n line with this overall definition, the


4/21



&nce the sta!eholders are identified, the next step is to engage them in meaningfuldiscussion. f there is a >odal &fficer in the organization in charge of the Charter, thatindividual should be responsible for devising a ?sta!eholder engagement plan. Thesta!eholders should be met at least twice during the period of developing the Charter,firstly to as! their views on what should be included, and secondly to show them the

charter that has been developed as a result of their views. They should be engagedperiodically thereafter, especially at the time of review of the charter, which should ta!eplace annually.

I%. I!"$e!entation o& Citizens Charter

The dynamics of implementation of Citizens Charters can be understood with thehelp of the following flow#chart2

Citizens Charter 4

'hat Ma#es a (ood Charter

8ocus on citizen requirements

3implelocal language

Accessible format

nclusive %for illiterate, visually impaired etc.+

Citizen friendly

Clearly quoted service standards

;ffective remediessolutions

Training


5/21



%. )RIAs E*"erience

n the pro"ect ?3upporting I5s in nstitutionalizing 3ocial Accountability /echanisms6@A successfully carried out interventions to enhance the accountability of themunicipalities as well as capacitated the communities to raise accountability issues inthree cities of @aipur, @anchi and Baranasi. This pro"ect supported by the Gater and3anitation 6rogramme too! a three#pronged approach to the issue and wor!ed from bothdemand %citizens+ and supply %I5s+ sides as well as the interface agencies andindividuals.

+ )rocesses o& institutiona$izing Socia$ Accounta-i$it Mechanis!s

Citizens Charter ,

Sharing of learning material, documents and

best practices

-3 survey findin's and report

C.C report

Presentations and /ocuments on

$ocial !ccountability)rientation and re'ular conduction of

meetin's of C0!s in 3 cities

.e'ular Interaction and iasonin' "ith the

officials and &% representatives

)rientation of municipality andlected .epresentatives

$ituation !nalysis $tatus of e(istin' social accountability mechanisms# citizen en'a'ement in 3 cities

%ac*'round research best practices

)rientation56no"led'e transfer to Pro7ect 0eams8 Partners

Engagement with

Municipality

Engagement with

Citizens

Supply side Interventions Demand side Interventions

.e'ular interaction "ith citizens anda"areness 'eneration in "ards and "ith "ardcouncilors

Community 9obilization andconduction of !rea $abhas

Creation of -ard Profiles

$election of citizen leaders5election5nomination of area sabharepresentatives

/esi'nin'8 preparation and handin'over of appropriate citizen charters

/esi'nin'8 preparation and pilotin'of public 'rievance redressalsystem

Informin' the community about thene"5 improved .$ "indo"5 phone5online etc:; in the &%s andencoura'in' them to test these ne"

5improved .$::

!doption and institutionalisation of the ne"and improved systems of rievance redressal

and Citizen Charter by the municipality:

)r'anizin' e(posure visits for pro7ectteam5&% representatives and C0!


6/21



These steps can be further elaborated as follows2

a. 5ac!ground @esearch on 5est 6ractices of 3ocial Accountability /echanisms

n order to learn from successful and efficient accountability mechanisms adopted bylocal governments and that are popular, inclusive and accessible to citizens, a secondarystudy of 3A/s especially citizen charters and grievance redressal systems was carried

Citizens Charter


7/21



out for ndia and other countries. ts examples were documented and shared with theI5s in the three cities.

b. 3ituation Analysis of current 3ocial Accountability /echanisms in @anchi,@aipur and Baranasi

The situation analysis of the current social accountability mechanisms was carried out intwo phases2 %i+ ob"ective, %before any !ind of orientation to the I5 staff or citizens+and) %ii+ detailed, %following orientation about 3A/s+. The exercise involved evaluatingthe situation and trends that were present at the I5s in context to the existing citizeninterface and grievance redressal. This was necessary to "udge the strengths anddeficiencies within the current system. The analysis of 3A/s was based on theassessment of the following indicators2

Awareness

Accessibility

nclusiveness Citizen#friendliness

;fficiency

c. Capacity 5uilding of /unicipal &fficers and ;lected @epresentatives

A number of media were used to raise the interest of municipal officers in the three citiestowards improving the accountability of their respective I5s. oint meetings of electedrepresentatives, citizens and the I5 officials were organised so that service relatedissues could be discussed on a single platform. A number of presentations were given by6@A on various legislations such as @T Act, 6ublic agar @a" 5ill or Community 6articipation Iaw was translated in Dindiand shared with all three I5s as well as other concerned sta!eholders.

d. ;xposure Bisit to Dyderabad

6@A organized an exposure visit to Dyderabad %Andhra 6radesh, ndia+ for municipalofficers and elected representatives from all the pro"ect cities. Care was ta!en to includeboth men and women in the group to maintain a gender balance. Dyderabad is a city!nown for its efficient service delivery and state of the art mechanisms being used for

1In 2==>8 P.I! had facilitated the ?aipur 9unicipal Corporation to underta*e proactive disclosure and a

format "as used for the same that had been adapted from the 1@ points mentioned in the .0I !ct:

Citizens Charter @


8/21



grievance redressal that ensure accountability as well as citizens trust. /any innovativepractices of the J$reater Dyderabad /unicipal CorporationJ as well as the ?Dyderabad/etropolitan Gater 3upply K 3ewerage 5oard had elements that could be replicated orcontextually adapted by other cities.

Through the exposure visit the participants could identify the gaps in the running of thesemechanisms in their respective municipalities and were also able to select some of thebest practices to adopt, suggesting at the same time a few changes in them so that theyprove to be favorable and run effectively in their states.

/ )rocess o& institutiona$izing Citizens Charter

a. $etting the support of the officials at I5s and concerned


9/21


10/21



An effective awareness campaign amongst all the sta!eholders at the initial stage is

essential to overcome s!epticism faced in the initial stages of formulation of thecharter. These awareness campaigns should be designed and delivered innovativelyand effectively and in the local language.

nfluencingrapport building with senior officialsstaff of the municipality2 t has beenobserved that interacting and building rapport with highersenior authorities hasalways been helpful for getting the wor! initiated. Gith regard to citizen charter, themunicipal commissioner was first approached and made aware about the charter andthe support required from the corporation. This helped 6@A to get the requiredinformation from the concerned officials.

The charter initiative should have a built#in mechanism for monitoring, evaluating

and reviewing the wor!ing of the Charter, preferably through the I5 as well ascitizensC5&s etc.

The Citizen Charter should not be a static document. 3ince it contains servicestandards and contact information, it should be regularly updated to reflect changes.The addresses and contact information of the officials and service delivery units needto be revised periodically in the Charter.

After formulating the Charter, the real challenge lies in ensuring that all the

employees internalize the contents of the Charter, after they understand its true spiritand also actively participate in giving wide publicity about the Charter amongst thecitizens.

The issuance of Citizens Charter does not change the mindset of the staff and the

citizens overnight. t ta!es place over a period of time. Therefore, regular, untiringand persistent efforts are required to bring about the attitudinal changes.

&ne of the ma"or learnings of this initiative has been that citizen awareness and

appreciation of the services and their frequent usage of the information provided inthe charter puts the onus on the departmentsofficials to sustain the service levels andexplore enhancements.

%III. 1est )ractices in the ado"tion and i!"$e!entation o& Citizens Charters

+ The Ro$e o& Ci2i$ Societ and the Charter o& Mu!-ai 31MMC4MC(M

The /umbai Citizens Charter stands out for two reasons. 8irst, the Charter was initiatedby an >$& %>on#$overnment &rganization+ that closely cooperates with the governmentin its implementation. 3econd, the control system and the follow#up of citizensgrievances are implemented by means of monthly meetings bac!ed by a databaseavailable online. The /umbai Charter was launched une 0111, with strong support ofthe /unicipality. The Charter has three components2

Citizens Charter 1=


11/21



nformation about each service

6ledges of quality and efficiency in their operation

6rocedures for filing complaints

&nce the Charter was created, it was published in the main newspaper of the city and

local yellow pages K posted on the Gebsites of the /unicipality. /umbais Charter hasa three#level system for filing and handling grievances. &n the first level the citizensubmits its grievance. f the resolution is not favourable, the citizens grievance goesthrough the following stages2

The grievance is directly submitted to the service provider shown in the Charter.

The grievance is submitted to a team corresponding to one of the six zones of the

city. After that, each team informs the problems of its zone to the


12/21


13/21



beneficiaries, other /inistries


14/21



=Gin consumer confidence with small,highly visible measures.


15/21



&ne of the most important prerequisites for getting feedbac! is to ma!e it easy for thecitizen to provide it. This includes, among other things, ensuring that officials areavailable to see the citizens at the times specified. The different routes for feedbac!should include a combination of the following2

&ver the counter at the service outlets)

5y toll free telephone number)

Through regular post, e#mail, fax and telephone)

Bia community and consumer organisations)

Consultative committees) and

Through periodic surveys.

1. Dow to ;valuate, monitor and review Citizens ChartersN

t is critically important that the system for evaluating performance against Charterstandards is congruent with the departments performance management system. That is,the standards in the charter should not be different from those of individual officials asper their "ob description or as set out in their departmental indicators. &ther forms ofevaluation, such as exit polls for user groups and use of surveys and feedbac! forms givea good indication of the quality of services. ;valuation should ta!e place regularly. Thisshould be T#enabled so that data can be analyzed in real#time and reports generatedautomatically on service failures. 3elf#assessment should be practiced with staff to assesshow well they thin! they are delivering services.

This can be compared against feedbac! from customers. ;xternal feedbac! can ta!e avariety of forms2

8ace to face feedbac! with users visiting the office)

8eedbac! forms provided to users at the counter)

sing the services of voluntary organisations %for example, research

organisations, consumer activists, universities, colleges, etc.+)

/edia reports) and

Charter /ar! system H a formal way for the government to provide feedbac!

through competitive benchmar!ing of Charters across different departments.

Citizens Charter o& HM'SS1 3Hdera-ad Munici"a$ 'ater Su""$ Se8erage1oard

Citizens Charter 1,


16/21



The aim and purpose of this charter of D/G335 is to confirm publicly, the service assurancegiven to the customers, who pay their bills regularly, for water and sanitation services from the5oard) to confirm the standards that the 5oard has set for itself, with regard to providingservices to its customers) and to state the customers obligations. This Charter is not a legaldocument for enforcement against neither the 5oard nor the customers. This Charter comesinto effect from anuary '=, '(((. The D/G335 provides the following services to itscustomers.

3upply of potable drin!ing water

3ewage collection and disposal

The $eneral /anager, 3ingle Gindow Cell, D/G335, -hairatabad, Dyderabad, 7(((*9exclusively deals with sanction of new connections.

+. Issue o& A""$ication For!s

The application form will cost a nominal fee of @s.0(.((.

3upplied on all wor!ing days during office hours.

Available at all Cash Collection Counters and at 3ingle Gindow Cell %3GC+.

/. Acce"tance o& &i$$ed in a""$ication &or!

The filled in application forms will be Accepted only at the 5oard office %3GC+. Accepted during office hours on all wor!ing days.

Accepted only after preliminary scrutiny at 3GC.

Ac!nowledged by issuing a receipt on the spot by 3GC.

A process fee will be collected for applications of domestic and non#domestic

categories.

9. Re$ease o& 'ater Su""$ Connection

ndividual water supply connection will be released within *( %thirty+ wor!ing days

from the date of payment of connection fee in full. The connection fee includes boring, tapping of distribution main, supply and laying of

necessary pipe including supply and fixing of meter chamber, gate valve, prescribedwater meter etc.

The 5oard is responsible for obtaining the /CD road cutting permission, including all

civil wor!s connected with the laying of service connection up to customers premisesincluding fixing water meter.

The customers are requested not to pay or engage any plumber contractor for the

aforesaid wor!. The customers are advised to have a sump of adequate capacity close to meter. The

meter chamber shall be located only within ' meters from the boundary, inside thepremises.

All the materials required li!e communication pipes, compression fittings, gate valve,

meter and meter chamber for giving service connection from the tapping point up to thecustomer premises including the meter will be supplied by the 5oard.

The customers should not engage the services of any employee of the 5oard for ta!ing

the connection.

Citizens Charter 1


17/21



. )a!ent o& Fees

Accepted at 3GC of 5oardJs Dead &ffice, -hairatabad on all wor!ing days during

office hours. Accepted by


18/21



can be perused at the concerned 3ection &ffice of the 5oard.

5illing 3ervices

0. 8irst bill will be issued within a maximum of three months after the release ofconnection.

'. All subsequentregular bills shall be issued presently on ao 5i#monthly basis for on#receipt of water bill. 4 0(

09 Cleaning and maintenance of meters. 4 0(

07


19/21



>thers

'0Complaints relating to bore wells, 636s, illegalconnection etc.

0 4

'' 3torm Gater &verflows. ' *

Dowever, the customer will be supplied '7( liters per connection per day if the supply is notrestored in ' consecutive supply days. The 5oard only will give customers who do not haveany arrears this facility. This facility is only for complaints registered with 010=.

The tan!ers will be arranged up to the nearest accessible place and from there the customer hasto ta!e the water.

?. Metro Custo!er Care

All complaints of the customers shall be registered through /CC 6h2 077*0* only.

@. Courtes and He$"&u$ness

All employees of D/G335 are committed to customer service. The following officers may becontacted in case of necessity.

. Custo!ers >-$igations

Customers should pay water bills promptly.

Customers should protect and maintain water meter in good condition. Tampering of

water meter is an offense punishable under D/G335 Act. Customers should not use any 5ooster 6umps to draw more water. t causes serious

inconvenience to others. t is a serious offense. Customers may inform the /etro Customer Care on phone 010= about any illegal

installation of pumps by others.

Citizens Charter 1B

Chie& (enera$ Manager 3E, >M Circ$e I,(osha!aha$.

/


20/21



Customers may inform the /CC on phone 010= about any illegal connections.

Customers may inform the /CC on phone 010=, if any sewer line cho!age or water

lea!age is noticed on the roads. Customers should educate all their family members not to throw domestic waste in their

toilets. This will cho!e sewer lines.

Customers should advise the public not to dump building materials li!e sand, stone etc.,near sewer manholes, which may enter sewer line and cause choc!age.

Customers should not open sewer manhole covers to let off the rainwater, as this will

cho!e the sewer lines, which are not designed to carry rainwater. Customer should insist, on any D/G335 employee, visiting his premises, to show his

identity card so as to avoid cheating. Customers to avoid pit taps, as they are a ma"or source of pollution.

Customers should conserve water, as it is a precious resource. They must use taps and

other appliances that minimize wastage and lead to saving of water at every point ofconsumption.

Customer is expected to ma!e necessary arrangements for rooftop collection of

rainwater. Assistance can be had from $round Gater


21/21



2. citizens charters-undef

Documents