SHIMLA: Nearly 15 years after its inception during the Dhumal government in 2011, the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act has failed to become fully effective on the ground. Despite the shift toward digital governance, multiple state departments have failed to update and notify their new online services under the Act.
The legislation was originally introduced to ensure the time-bound delivery of government services to citizens. Under the Act, all departments were required to notify their services along with fixed deadlines for delivery to save citizens from repeatedly visiting government offices.
In the initial years, key departments-including revenue, transport, urban local bodies, panchayati raj, rural development, industries, food and civil supplies, electricity, jal shakti, health, and education-notified their services.
These included the issuance of income, caste, character, and Himachali bonafide certificates, birth and death registration, driving licenses, vehicle services, power and water connections, social security pensions, ration cards, industrial clearances, and various departmental NOCs.
However, over the last few years, most departments have failed to bring their new digital services under the ambit of the Act. The notified service lists for several departments remain outdated, even though a significant number of services are now being delivered through digital platforms.
The grievance redressal mechanism has also taken a hit. The state chief information commissioner and state information commissioners serve as the second appellate authority under the Act. Because these posts have remained vacant for a long time, and the information commission is already burdened with pending RTI appeals, the disposal of public service appeals has been severely affected.
The state government is now working to automate the service portals of all departments to rectify these gaps. The system is already operational in the industries department, and the government aims to onboard all other departments by August.
Once the new automated system is active, a complaint will be generated automatically on the portal if a service is not delivered within the prescribed timeframe.
“All departmental service portals are being automated. The system has already started in the industries department, and the target is to connect all departments by August,” said A. Shainamol, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Training.
She added that the automation will ensure the effective implementation of the Public Service Guarantee Act and increase accountability. “The posts of State Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner are also being filled to hear second appeals,” Shainamol said.
