a brief on the training on citizens charters and social...
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A Brief on the Training on Citizens Charters and Social Accountability for the
participants of CESSD, Project, Government of Pakistan
Background
Accountability is the key for the functioning of any public service delivery organisation. Though the
system of accountability exists in the form of financial audits in these organizations, they are primarily
based on the information available in the records in the custody of these organizations. It is found that
most of the times audits in these public service delivery organizations have absolutely no element of audit
by the users/citizens who are the real beneficiaries of all the schemes and programmes run by these
organizations. There the relevance and need for social accountability at this juncture is very high, as it is
the user who can make the assessment of weather the benefits that were planned have reached them or
not and how satisfied they are with the services being provided to them by these agencies etc.
Citizen’s Charters are one of the critical Social Accountability tools that are being used extensively by the
public service delivery agencies to inform to the citizens on the services that are being provided by them
and the time within which the services would be provided to them. In India, the Citizen’s Charter
initiative was taken by the Government of India with a view to ensure quality in delivery of public service
to citizens. The programme is being implemented successfully in government departments at the Central
Government and in all State Governments. The Government of Andhra Pradesh took up this initiative in
October 1998, to enable departments to prepare and implement Citizens’ Charters through systematic
planning and training and orientation. The Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad is a national
resource institution supporting the capacity building initiatives on Citizen’s Charters in India.
A service delivery improvement project taken up by the
Government of Pakistan captioned, “Communications for
Effective Service Delivery Improvement Project” (CESSD) in
four districts of North West Frontier Province, i.e.;
Abbottabad, Nowshera, Peshawar and Swat is looking at
improving water, education and health related services delivery
to the citizens by the local government in partnership with the
Social accountability is defined as a “Proactive processes by which public officials inform the citizen’s
about their plan of action, their performance, their behavior and the improvements in delivery of
services.” This approach totally relies on civic engagement, in which ordinary citizens or civil society
organizations participate directly or indirectly with the service provider in assessing accountability of the
public servant. Social Accountability initiatives include participatory budgeting, social audits, citizen
report cards, and citizen charters which involve citizens in the oversight of government.
civil society. Through this initiative, for the first time in NWFP, Local Governments are displaying Public
Information Boards, District and Tehsil Council budget sessions are being televised and shown on local
cable networks. The Local Governments have also just begun on developing Citizens' Charters as a tool
for improving water supply and primary education, a collaborative venture between CESSD and the
Water and Sanitation program - South Asia.
As it was felt that there is little knowledge and
experience in developing and implementing
Citizen Charters in this region and hence there
is a need to provide hands on training to the
leaders of the towns from these provinces.
Therefore, WSP-SA planned an exposure visit
and training for CESSD staff and other
partners at CGG starting from November 1st-
November 4th 2007, through which first hand
information of the process of constructing a Citizen Charter and its applicability to the region in question
could be studied. The study tour was an intensive training experience in the formation and
operationalization of charters. The participants interacted with experts and practitioners on the subject to
understand in detail the various aspects of creating, advertising, and evaluating citizen charters.
The Process
A Citizen’s Charter is the expression of an understanding between the citizen and the public service
provider about the quantity and quality of services citizens receive in exchange for their taxes. As public
services are funded by citizens, either directly or indirectly through taxes, they have the right to expect a
particular quality of service that is responsive to their needs and is provided efficiently at a reasonable
cost. The Citizen’s Charter is a written, voluntary declaration by service providers about service standards,
choice, accessibility, non-discrimination, transparency and accountability. Therefore, it is a useful way of
defining for the customers, the nature of service provision and explicit standards of service delivery.
If successfully implemented, the charter can enable the following:
• Improved service delivery;
• Greater responsiveness of officials towards the public; and
• Greater public satisfaction with services.
Components of Citizen’s Charter
There are six components to the Citizen’s Charter:
1. Agreed and published standards for service delivery;
2. Openness and information about service delivery;
3. Choice for the citizen and consultation with users about service levels and quality;
4. Courtesy and helpfulness in service delivery;
5. Provision of redress when services are not delivered to the published standards; and
6. Value for the money.
What Makes a Good Charter?
• Focus on Customer Requirements
• Simple Language
• Service standards
• Effective Remedies
• Delegation
• Feedback Mechanism
• Close Monitoring
• Periodic Review
• Training
Dos and Don'ts for Implementing the Charters
Sl. No.
Dos Don'ts
1 Make haste, slowly. Don't merely make haste.
2 List areas of interface. Don't be unrealistic.
3 Phase out areas for introduction of small steps. Don't take on more than you can commit.
4 Involve customer and staff in formulating and implementing it
Don't involve only senior officers in the formulation and implementation.
5 Prepare a Master Plan for formulation and implementation over five years and budget for it.
Don't rush into an overall package for the whole Ministry/Department/ Organisation,
6 Win consumer confidence with small, highly visible measures.
Don't promise more than you can deliver.
7 Remember Citizens' Charter is a process, constantly evolving.
Don't look upon it as a one-time exercise, with a final outcome.
8 Inform the customer of the proposed commitments.
Don't inform the customer unless you are sure of delivering the service.
9 Use simple language. Don't use difficult language or jargon.
10 Train you staff. Don't leave yourself out.
11 Delegate powers. Don't centralise.
12 Set up systems for feedback and independent scrutiny.
Don't continue blindly without regular periodic reassessment of performance.
Flowchart on the Main Features of Developing a Charter
Plan how to develop the charter
Get support from Ministers and senior managers; decide who will produce your charter
and list the resources needed.
Build a partnership with users and staff
Produce a plan for taking the work forward. Consult with users, staff, and other
providers about how to develop a charter. Determine roles and responsibilities.
Collect relevant information Examine service areas that matter most to users through available
information and by asking them.
Circulate draft charter
Produce a draft charter to show users,
potential users, staff and other
organisations and decide how to include
their views.
Revise draft charter Include comments and inform users
and staff about the changes
Finalise the Charter
Launch internally and ensure training needs of all affected officials are identified and training
provision made. Make sure staff are ready for the launch and know what is expected of them.
Monitor performance Against standards and regularly publish
performance information.
Carry out further
consultation if necessary
Launch, publicise and distribute the charter Ensure Charter is displayed in all offices. Make sure everyone in your organisation has
access to a copy.
Review your charter standards
Case Study 1: eSeva
The eSeva experiment in Andhra
Pradesh has been very successful and
has made available basic services to
the citizen at the click of a button.
The team visited the eSeva Centre,
where the officials explained to them
in detail about its salient features.
There are 46 eSeva centres (with 400
service counters) spread over the
Twin Cities and Ranga- Reddy
District. All service counters are
facilitated with an electronic queuing system operating from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, on all working days. It is
a 'One-stop-shop' for over 66 G2C and B2C services. Any citizen in the twin cities can avail of the
services at any of the 46 eSeva service centres without any jurisdiction limits. Online services are also
available including eForms, eFiling, ePayments and payments by cash/cheque/DD/credit card/Internet.
Some Major Services Available at eSeva
Payment of Utilities Bills Certificates Permits / Licences
Electricity bills
Water and sewerage bills
Telephone bills (BSNL & TATA
Tele Services)
Property Tax
Sales Tax
Registration of births / deaths
Issue of birth / death certificates
Registration Department : Issue of
encumbrance certificates *
Issue of Caste/Nativity Certificates *
Labour Department License New
Registration
License Renewal
Medical and Health
Department: Renewal of
Drug Licences *
Issue / renewal of trade
licences
Transport Department Services
Polices Services Reservation
Change of address of a vehicle
owner
Transfer of ownership of a
vehicle
Issue of learners' licences
Issue / renewal of driving
licences (non-transport vehicles).
Registration of new vehicles
• Payment of Inquest/Panchanama
fees 50 Rs.
• Payment for First Information
Report 50 Rs.
• Payment for Inquest/Panchanama
fees 50 Rs.
• Payment for Post Mortem Report
50Rs.
Reservation of APSRTC
bus tickets
HMWSSB: Reservation of
water tanker
Tourism: Reservation of
tickets/ accommodation *
Other Services at eSeva Centres
Internet Services
Sale of passport application
forms
Receipt of passport applications
Receipt of applications for new
telephone connections.*
Registration Department: Sale of
non-judicial stamps
Registration Department:
Document writing service *
Collection of small savings *
Internet-enabled electronic payments
Downloading of forms and
Government Orders (GOs)
Filing of applications on the web
Receipt of complaints or requests in
connection with citizen services *
Case Study 2: Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Authority
The second visit of the participants was to
the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport
Authority. A detailed presentation was
made by the Commissioner Transport on
the process reengineering that was taken up
by the organisation and the extensive use of
information technology that was used in the
process. The organisation also involved
extensively the internal staff in the process
of change and also the civil society for
greater acceptability to change. The key factor that led to the success of the organisation was the total
support from the Government. There were extensive consultations held with all stakeholders from time
to time during the process reengineering phase. The Commissioner explained that the process is an
ongoing one and the organisation is still exploring the possibility of reducing timelines for service delivery
on some of the services like issue of licenses etc by use of IT. The process is continuing in RTA for
providing services faster to the common man.
Information and grievance redressal mechanism is in place wherein a toll free (1074) facility for
disseminating information regarding services/ complaints is available. All information pertaining to
citizen services and forms are available through web on www.aptransport.org / www.aptransport.gov.in
and feed back forms are monitored for betterment. The system has resulted in greater transparency,
accountability and increased efficiency of the staff. The revenues have also increased through effective
monitoring and effective check on circulation of bogus licenses/ registrations/ permits.
Highlights of Services
• Provides 54 citizen services relating to Driving Licences, Vehicle Registrations and Permits
• Functions on a robust and extensive network
• Available at a vast dedicated network of 38 RTAs and 33 mini RTOs
• Available at additional service delivery points like e-Seva Centers, Automobile Dealerships, etc.
• Citizens can download all forms from the Dept. website
Case Study 3: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
The third best practice
organisation visited by the
participants was the Greater
Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation. The Corporation has
taken a big step towards
accessibility, transparency and
accountability through the use of
e governance. Approach the
organisation has taken towards e-
governance is to make it a
paperless organization with
authenticated and accurate digital data. Adherence to the Citizen Charters is made mandatory to bring in
greater transparency and accountability. The discussion centered round a project captioned, “Hyderabad
First”, a project that reaches out to the citizens.
Hyderabad first the Faster Choice offers the following services:
• Settlement and payment of Property Tax
• Payment Gateway for Online Payments
• Digital Signatures
• Instant Birth / Death Registration
• Instant Birth / Death Certificates’ Issuance
• ILook
• C2C Services
• Fund Your City
• Submission and tracking of Building Plan
Applications
• Public Grievance lodging through Parishkruthi
• Tenders’ Submission & Management System
• File Management System
• Legal Case Management System
• Citizens Forum
• Opinion Polls and GIS for resource planning
and decision Making
• City Managers’ Training Centre
• AASARA for Senior Citizens
• Status of Infrastructure works
Access through Various Service Delivery Mechanisms
Sl
No.
Service Name No. of Service
Delivery Points
Avg. No. of Citizens utilising
the services per day
1 e-Seva 50 500
2 Zonal Offices 5 600
2 Circle Offices 18 3000
3 Commissioner & Head Office 1 100
4 AP Online 300 700
5 Internet (www.ghmc.gov.in) Anywhere 600
6 Call Center 1 500
7 Citizen Service Centers 5 1800
Total : 7,800
Online Issue of Birth and Death Certificates
Another major feature of the programme is that citizens can get their birth/death certificates delivered to
them quickly. Citizens have the facility to indent these certificates through the website which is sent
through courier to their door steps. By maintaining the database of births & deaths on the computer, the
process of sorting, searching and accessing the database is now simplified. The citizens can get their
records updated, as they have the facility of checking whether their name is registered or not through the
web site. The Citizen Service Centers or e-Seva centers provide the citizens the facility to collect their
certificates on demand instantly. This is made possible because the records pertaining to them have been
thrown open and it is now possible for them to get necessary rectification on their records without any
delay.
Parishkruthi– e-GRIEVANCES
A software package has been developed allowing the
citizens a user-friendly access to the Greater Hyderabad
Municipal Corporation. Public can file their grievances and
know the status by logging onto the website. Grievances
follow-up is based on hierarchy automatically. Grievances
can be forwarded low level to high level category. For
example AE to EE and EE to concerned officer. GIS
based Support System is planned for Grievances. SMS has
also been integrated with the grievance module. The status
of the complaint can also be verified online on the website.
In addition to this, an integrated system has been designated to accept the grievance by any mode viz.,
Internet, Call Centre, Citizen Service Centre, Commissioner's Office and the officers can redress these
grievances through their respective logins. Several MIS reports have been developed in order to ensure
proper and timely redressal of the grievances. GHMC has own call center services to clear civic problems
on dialing 155304. Grievances will be registered through the following modes through Internet, Call
Center, Citizen Service Center, Commissioner’s Mode.
Key Lessons learnt
Citizen’s Charters can successfully achieve the objectives of good governance provided a robust frame
work is in place to ensure the progress from formulation of charters to implementation of charters and
from implementation to receiving citizen feedback and from citizen feedback to review, evaluation and
updating of Charters. In building such a framework, the critical areas that have a bearing on the efficient
and effective service delivery to the citizens through the Charters need to be continuously monitored
leading to corrective and timely steps to ensure their success.
The key lessons learnt from the visit to the three best practice organizations include:
• Complete government support (top leadership) to the implementation of the programme
• Preparing the organisation for implementing charters is very critical and it has been observed that the
organisation that have prepared a base within the organisation for this change have been successful in
implementation. This also involves training and capacity building of the staff and personnel who are
involved in the implementation of the charters.
• Extensive consultations with the key stakeholders are a key factor for the successful implementation
of the charters.
• Accessibility of concerned officers in the organizations for assistance in case of any problem
encountered by the citizen.
• Developing Service Delivery Standards is one of the key elements for effective implementation of the
charters.
• Display of Charters is another important concern in the charter implementation
• Internal review and monitoring of charters in most of the cases has given the required impetus to
successful implementation.
• Feedback from end users in regular intervals as a method for brining about internal corrections has
proved very useful.
• Awareness generation among public about the existence of the citizen’s charters is a key factor in the
charter implementation scheme.
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