Spanning across an area of 308,252 km2, Madhya Pradesh is the second largest state in India
demographically, with a humongous population of approximately 7.3 crore people. That makes it
the fifth most populous state of India. A population that huge invites an equally huge amount of
public grievances, redressal of which is often touted as a tedious task for the government. A
melange of the population comprising different age groups, religions, tribes, castes and creeds
brings in demands for services that are diverse in nature too. Since Madhya Pradesh is the 2nd
largest state by area and 6th largest state by population in the country, delivery of effective and
efficient public services is the primary challenge before the Government. GoMP implements
umpteen social welfare as well as development related schemes and programmes through 57
functional Departments having their own administrative setup in 52 Districts. Apart from this, the
Government is also responsible for the timely and effective delivery of various citizen-centric
services provided by these Departments.
Background:
Every citizen has the right to G2C (government to citizen) services promised by the government,
and it is the duty of the government to ensure an efficient and effective delivery of services
promised to them. Previously, citizens had to contact offices of DO (Designated Officers) to
avail services. He/She had to pay numerous visits to the Government Office, incurring a loss of
time and money. It is also observed that the experience of a common man while trying to avail
the services of Government Office was not always positive. This is being realized and seriously
thought by Government of Madhya Pradesh. To improve the delivery mechanism and to
mitigate the hardship faced by the citizens, Madhya Pradesh became the first state in India to
feel the pressing need to bring in more efficiency in the public service delivery system and
passed the Public Service Guarantee Act or the Right to Service Act in July 2010. It was
implemented through Government Offices on September 25, 2010.
The government has been making tireless efforts to make the Act more efficient and thus
introducing changes as and when required.
MP Public Service Guarantee Act
Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act is a first-of-its-kind initiative to empower citizens
of the state. It is a profound step towards good governance that promises to deliver identified
services to common people within a mentioned time frame. The Act entitles citizens a time-
bound service delivery, making it legally binding, which includes the imposition of a fine against
concerned erring official. Madhya Pradesh is the first state in India where legal guarantee has
been provided to people for the delivery of notified services within a time limit. Implementation of
the Act has created a new work culture in the state. The Act mandates the selected
departments to re-engineer their service delivery processes so that the public services notified
under the Act can be delivered within a stipulated time period.
Aim of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act:
To make the delivery of public services more efficient and effective.
To initiate a delivery system that is relevant, efficient.
To formulate a service delivery system that is effective, can reach out to every citizen
and have an impact on their lives.
To introduce transparency in the system.
To cater to the demands of the citizen within a stipulated time.
To provide hassle-free services to citizens.
To facilitate citizen-centric good governance.
Re-engineering and strengthening backend of the departments.
To develop a mechanism that is sustainable.
Genesis of MP Public Service Guarantee Act
Prior to the implementation of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act the system
that existed were governed by multiple Acts and thus had many flaws. This resulted in a myriad
of loopholes and inefficiencies. Besides, there was no transparency in the system. Even
government employees did not have accountability. The delivery of services depended on their
whims and fancies, without any time-bound actions.. Additionally, the demand for any service
was very costly on the part of the citizens, who had to visit multiple departments to get their
requirements fulfilled. In the wake of these circumstances, the need for an Act to regulate
delivery of G2C services on time felt like never before. This motivated the evolution of the Public
Service Guarantee Act.
Problems encountered prior to the implementation of the MPPSGA:
Lag in Public Service Delivery
No transparency in the existing system
Lack of information
No appointed officers to shoulder responsibility of delivering a service.
Multiple visits to Departments
No assurance on time-bound delivery of services
Inconvenient and expensive
No guarantee of services
No accountability
Sections of the MP Public Service Guarantee Act
Short title, extent, and commencement
Definitions
Notification of Service, Designated officers, first appeal officers, second appeal, authority and stipulated time limits
Right to obtain service within stipulated time limit
Providing services in the stipulated time limit
Appeal
Penalty
Revision
Protection of action taken in good faith
Powers to make rules
Power to remove difficulties
Salient features of the MP Public Service Guarantee Act
Assurance of Service- The Act ensures services that have been promised to the
citizens are delivered efficiently.
Services within stipulated time- One of the primary purposes of the MP PSGA was to
make certain people did not have to keep waiting for too long for the delivery of services.
Under the Act, a stipulated time period has been fixed for rendering services to citizens.
Accountability fixed- Prior to the implementation of the MP PSGA, there were no
designated individuals for placing service request to. The Act made provision of
appointing level-based officers whose key responsibility is to supervise the proper
implementation of the requested services.
Grievance Redressal- Madhya Pradesh became one of the pioneers among the Indian
states, which, as a part of its commitment to set an example of good governance, took a
major step in setting up the contemporary and comprehensive public grievances system
as a part of the Act.
Penalty/Compensation in case of delay/denial- One of the prime features that make
the delivery of any Act more efficient and time-bound is the imposition of penalty. It
keeps officials on their toes in the delivery of services and makes them more
accountable.
Understanding the different components of the MP Public Service Guarantee Act:
1. Right to Service- According to the clause mentioned in Section 3 of Madhya Pradesh Public
Service Guarantee Act, a stipulated time has been fixed for providing the services notified. The
right to timely disposal of service is the Right to Service mentioned under the Act.
2. Designated Officers- The state government, according to Section 3 of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act has been given the power to appoint Designated Officers. As notified by
the Government of Madhya Pradesh, the officer appointed will be called Designated
Officer. The Designated Officers will be primarily responsible for the proper disposal of
services notified under the Act.
The Designated Officer can further sublet the responsibility of an application to a
subordinate or office bearer. However, ensuring timely disposal of the service will remain
the key responsibility of the Designated Officer alone.
It is the sole responsibility of the Designated Officer to make sure the services are
delivered with the mentioned time frame. The time frame that has been notified by the
Government of Madhya Pradesh remains the ultimate duration within which a service
must be delivered. Thus, the Designated Officer must be vigilant about the timing. If an
application is being rejected, it will be the accountability of the Designated Officer to
clearly mention the reason behind its rejection.
Responsibility of Designated Officer:
It will be the responsibility of the Designated Officer appointed by the Government of
Madhya Pradesh to issue notification on the services that have been notified under
Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act.
The application received under Section 16 of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee
Act ( Application, Appeal, Reviewing, Recovery of Penalty and Tax), must be registered
in the prescribed format.
As per rule 4 of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act, every applicant must be
provided with a receipt in the prescribed format of the service they demand.
Even if an applicant submits an incomplete form, he/she will still be entitled to a receipt.
The missing documents must be mentioned in the receipt. However, no time frame will
be mentioned in the case of an incomplete application.
For the ease of citizens, a board must be installed outside the office that will have clear
and precise information of the services being provided.
In case of inclusion of a new service, the website of the department must include a
notification about the same.
3. First Appeal Officer :
Section 3 of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act empowers the State
Government to appoint a first appeal officer. According to Section 6 of the Act, if a
service has not been delivered or an application has been rejected by the Designated
Officer, in such cases, the applicant has the right to take it up to the First Appeal Officer
within 30 days of the application.
The First Appeal Officer can also take up a case suo moto in case of any anomaly
detected by him.
An applicant can make the first appeal if he/she is dissatisfied with the services that
have already been provided.
According to the amendment made in the Second Schedule of 6(i) on January 17, 2012,
the first appeal officer is entitled to designate his subordinate any application that has
crossed its mentioned time frame of delivery or has been rejected by the Designated
Officer.
According to Section 6 (i) (क), the First Appeal Officer is entitled to initiate the process of
penalty in case the Designated Officer has delayed service delivery without valid
reasoning or rejected an application without any grounds.
Responsibility of First Appeal Officer:
To monitor and supervise the applications and service demands received by the
Designated Officer.
To supervise the applications received on a weekly, bi-monthly or monthly basis and
review those applications that have crossed the mentioned time frame or have been
rejected by the Designated Officers.
Regularly monitor the office of the Designated Officer. To get in touch with applicants
who have placed demand for a service to the Designated Officer, enquiring if the service
has been delivered to them within the prescribed time frame as well as ensuring they
have received a receipt against their application.
4. Second Appeal Officer:
The second-level officer holds the apex position in the system. According to Section 6 of
the Act, if a service has not been delivered within the mentioned time period or an
application rejected by the First Appeal Officer, in such a case, the applicant has the
right to take it up to the Second Appeal Officer within 60 days of the application.
An applicant can make the second appeal if he/she is dissatisfied with the services that
have been provided by the First Appeal Officer or in case his/her application has been
rejected by the First Appeal Officer.
According to the Second Schedule of 6 of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee
Act, the second appeal officer is empowered to designate his subordinate any
application that has crossed its mentioned time frame of delivery or has been rejected by
the First Appeal Officer. He/She also has the authority to summon the First Appeal
Officer and question about the rejection or dissatisfaction of an application.
The Second Appeal Officer can also take up a case suo moto in case of any anomaly
detected by him.
Responsibility of Second Appeal Officer:
To supervise the works of his subordinates and monitor the applications and service
demands received by the First Appeal Officer.
To supervise the applications received on a weekly, bi-monthly or monthly basis and
review applications that have crossed the mentioned time frame or have been rejected
by the First Appeal Officers.
Regularly monitor the office of the Designated Officer and First Appeal Officer. To get in
touch with applicants who have placed demand for a service to the Designated Officer,
enquiring if the service has been delivered to them within the prescribed time frame as
well as ensuring they have received a receipt against their application.
5. Penalty (Provision of punishment under Section 7 of the Madhya Pradesh Public
Service Guarantee Act:
1. (a) If the Second Appeal Officer is satisfied that the Designated Officer has failed to
deliver a service without any valid reason or delayed the process, the Second Appeal
Officer has the right to penalize the Designated Officer and charge a fine ranging
between Rs 500 to Rs 5000.
(b) If the Second Appeal Officer is satisfied that the Designated Officer has negligently
rejected an application without any valid reason or delayed the process, the Second
Appeal Officer has the right to penalize the Designated Officer and charge a fine of Rs
250 per day. It can go up to Rs 5000.
2. If convinced that the First Appeal Officer has delayed or carelessly rejected an
application without any sound reason, the Second Appeal Officer is authorized to penalize the
former. The First Appeal Officer will be penalized with a fine not less than Rs 500 or more than
Rs 5000, provided, he/she is first given a chance to a hearing.
3. The Second Appeal Officer is authorized to hand over the amount received by penalizing
the First Appeal Officer or Designated Officer to the applicant.
4. In case the Second Appeal Officer is convinced that the First Appeal Officer or
Designated Officer have failed to live up to the services notified to them, the former also has the
power to take disciplinary actions against the erred officials.
6. Revision (Section 8)
If the penalized Designated Officer or First Appeal Officer feel their penalty has been unethical
and unjust, they have the right to request another hearing before a senior officer of Government
of Madhya Pradesh, usually Principal Secretary of the Public Service Department within 60
days. The senior officer will then review the case and consider it based on the prescribed
parameters of Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act. However, the senior officer can
only take up the case if the request has been placed within 60 days and the officer is convinced
with the reason of delay or rejection furnished by the First Appeal Officer and Designated
Officer.
Service Notification & GPR (Govt. Process Re-engineering) Approach and Methodology
This entails four stages:
1st Stage: Identification of Services
Citizens Surveys
Consultation with Line Departments
Inputs from field functionaries
Feasibility Study
2nd Stage: Government Process Re-engineering
Discussions with Line Department
Brainstorming Sessions
Participation of Civil Society
3rd Stage: Service Design
Formulation of GOs
Development of IT system
User Acceptance Test
Pilot Testing
Complete Roll Out
4th Stage: Performance Management
Monitoring and Evaluation
Generation of Reports
Data Analysis
Feedback Mechanism
Places where citizens can avail PSG services:
The services notified by the Government of Madhya Pradesh can be availed through three
channels
Office of Designated Officer- Citizens can place demands for services notified under
MP Public Service Guarantee Act by submitting their application at the office of the
Designated Officer. No fees other than the legal charges of the requested service shall
be charged from citizens for submitting their application at the office of the Designated
Officer.
Lok Seva Kendra- They are one-stop centre for all services facilitating Digital
Certification of attachment, online processing of application and instant transfer of
application to Designated Officers. The centres are also integrated with MPO & CSC
Kiosks for selected services. There are 412 operational in the state that are open from
9.30AM to 6PM. The Centres are divided into two 2 categories, Type A and Type B.
Type A Centres have 5 operators while Type B is equipped with 3 operators.
MP Online Kiosks and CSC- To reach out to both urban as well as rural citizens and
help them receive benefits of notified services, Government of Madhya Pradesh initiated
MP Online under the MP Public Service Guarantee Act, which supports a soft copy
movement. Citizens can avail services even through the https://www.mponline.gov.in/portal/ portal.
Mobile App and Self Service Mode- Citizens can also place a request for a service by
simply downloading the mobile application. People living in both urban as well as rural
areas can make best use of the system. The system also empowers citizens to demand
a service or place a request under MP e-district and MP Online through self service
mode through the use of e-KYC. The applicant will only be charged the legal fees for the
service.
Institutional Arrangements for the implementation of the MP Public Service
Guarantee Act:
High Power Committee (headed by Chief Secretary) is a steering committee for strategic
guidance to the Project and advice on all policy matters pertaining to the implementation of the
PSGA Act:
1. Public Service Management Department- With an aim to help citizens avail services
notified by the State Government and to foster service re-engineering, making the Public
Delivery System more efficient, the Public Service Management Department was established in
2010.
2. State Agency for Public Service (SAPS)-Under the Public Service Management
Department, a State Agency for the implementation of the MP Public Service Guarantee Act
was formed. It is registered under Madhya Pradesh Society Registration Act 1973. The
President of the General Body of SAPS is the Honourable Chief Minister, while the
Chairman of the Executive Committee is the Secretary, Public Service Management
Department. MP SAPS functions through different wings:
a. MP e-District- It is an initiative to ensure Electronic Delivery of Services at district/sub-
district level through portal http://www.mpedistrict.gov.in/Public/index.aspx. It was rolled out
across the state in September 2012. It aims at delivery of high volume, citizen-centric services
through Lok Seva Kendra and business processes re-engineering and service levels. It is
equipped with backend computerization for end-to-end e-service delivery and digitization of
legacy data. It primarily focuses on capacity building, training and change management. The
services offered under the initiative include Certificates, Pensions, Grievances, Ration Card etc.
MP e-District has put to rest 5 crore service applications. The workflow has been integrated with
provisions of MP Public Service Guarantee Act 2010 and also integrated with eTaal, RAS and
Digi Locker.
b. CM Helpline- Introduced in Madhya Pradesh on July 31, 2014, it is the first initiative in
the country towards strengthening good governance through public service delivery guarantee.
It is a one-of-its-kind initiative of a Paperless Government that has more than 56 departments,
980 attributes and 14800 officers mapped and managed centrally. The Helpline touches the
lives of 73 million people. It is a platform where individuals can register their grievances through
either dialing the Toll-Free no 181, or through the CMH web portal www.cmhelpline.gov.in.
Since its inception, it has been used extensively by citizens from across 52 districts of the state
for redressal of their problems. It integrates more than 55 government departments and helps in
smooth implementation of more than 535 government schemes and services. It operates from
block-level to the state-level and is all about solving problems of citizens as its own, ensuring no
one is left behind.
c. CM Dashboard- The CM Dashboard takes care of churning data and analytics required
to keep the entire mechanism rolling through the portal http://cmdashboard.mp.gov.in/.
d. MP MyGov- It is a „citizen engagement platform‟ launched on August 22, 2017, to
maintain harmony between citizens and the Government of Madhya Pradesh leveraging digital
technologies and the concept of crowdsourcing. Through this portal https://mp.mygov.in/,
citizens share their thoughts and suggestions with the government regarding citizens' policies,
programs, and schemes of the state. This platform works to connect governments and citizens
together. The purpose of the state government is to encourage civil partnership in the direction
of good governance. The objective behind MP MyGov is making a standard digital platform for
the citizens of Madhya Pradesh to „crowdsource governance ideas from citizens‟, through which
they can ideate, participate, collaborate, discuss and contribute to a strong State & Nation.
3. Creation of Public Service Management cadre at the District and Departmental Level- A
cadre has been formulated to ensure services are proliferated and delivered to the last person
in the grass root level. It is the responsibility of the PSM cadre to monitor the delivery of services
swiftly and smoothly and make certain the demands of citizens are successfully fulfilled.
Madhya Pradesh Citizen Access to Responsive Services
To bolster the system and meet the current challenges being faced by the Lok Seva Kendra,
Government of Madhya Pradesh is initiating Madhya Pradesh Citizen Access to Responsive
Services (MPCARS) Project. The project that is expected to bring a palpable transformation and
improve the public delivery in the state is being supported by the World Bank. The mission of
the project is to facilitate widespread access to public services „anywhere, anytime and to
everybody‟ through a transparent and accountable governance model. Thus, the overall aim of
the project is „to provide improved access to public services to all citizens of Madhya Pradesh,
but with a special focus on citizens living in low income districts, and citizens from vulnerable
and marginalized groups‟.GoMP is also integrating services provided by the other departments
to cater the citizen‟s requirement at a single place. The cross service availability will enable
government to serve anywhere, anytime basis. MPSAPS will serve as the front-end agency for
PSMD to implement the project in the state.
Process of workflow:
Applicants/Citizens submit their application to the operator at Lok Seva Kendra, who in turn
forwards the application and annexure for processing that goes straight to the Designated
Officer through Data Server. The Designated Officer takes up the case and work on it on a
stipulated period of notified time under the Ac . Once the service has been delivered, the
applicant/citizen is informed through an SMS notification. A feedback system monitors the
effectiveness of the service delivered and if the applicant is satisfied with the service, the case is
disposed of. In case the applicant is not satisfied with the service delivered or in case the
service delivery has surpassed the prescribed time frame of 7 days, he/she has the right to take
up the case to the First Appeal Officer and in case of dissatisfaction of the services delivered by
First Appeal Officer, he/she can then take it up to the Second Appeal Officer within 60 days.
Key Stakeholders:
Public Service Management Department, MP
State Agency for Public Services, MP
The World Bank
Grant Thomton
National Informatics Centre
Lok Seva Kendra
M.P. State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd
Madhya Pradesh Agency For Promotion Of Information Technology
MP Online: Kiosk Center and System Integrator
MP MyGov: Platform for G2C Communication
CM Helpline: Platform for Grievances Redressal, seeking information and providing
feedback
Present scenario post implementation of MP Public Service Guarantee Act
It is the result of this change that what started off with 52 services by 16 departments has now
burgeoned into 452 services that have been notified to 47 departments. Of this 452, 260
services are already being provided in the state. Inspired by the success of this Act, 14 other
Indian States have now adopted and the remaining states and the Union Government is also
contemplating to emulate.
Samadhan Ek Din- Rendering of Important Citizen Services in one day
As a further extension of the Act and taking good governance a step further, Samadhan Ek Din
was started in the state in March 2018. It is a novel and revolutionary step in delivering services
to citizens on the same day. It delivers 34 services identified by 9 departments. Let‟s see what
Samadhan Ek Din and what are the provisions entailed in it.
Samadhan Ek Din has been implemented under the Madhya Pradesh Public Service
Guarantee Act with an aim to provide citizens immediate delivery of services on „Same
Day‟. It has been an instrumental step in the direction of ease of delivery
Designated Officers are appointed by the district collector at all Lok Seva Kendra on
basis of roster.
The Public Service Centres in every district maintain a roster wherein the district
collector and accountable officials check the disposal of requested notified services.
As many as 32 services have been so far included in Samadhan Ek Din. More services
are soon to be added to it.
More than 14 Lakh applications have been disposed of under Samadhan Ek Din.
Under Samadhan Ek Din all required administrative and technical measures have been
taken to ensure the delivery of notified services within a day.
E-mail and WhatsApp provisions have also been entailed to make it easy for individuals
who are not in a position to visit Public Service Centres in person.
An improvised dashboard has been introduced to check if citizens are receiving service
delivery in a day. Cases are being monitored both at District and State-level through the
Dashboard.
A review meeting of Samadhan Ek Din is being held once every month wherein officers
who have fulfilled their duties are being applauded and acknowledged while those found
negligent are facing severe actions.
A Citizen Feedback Call-Centre has also been established to encourage citizens to
share their bouquets and brickbats on the services provided under Samadhan Ek Din.
Key Achievements and vision of the MP Public Service Guarantee Act:
Introduced to revolutionize the public delivery system in Madhya Pradesh, the Act has
effectively been able to bring a change in the system. The successful implementation of the
MP Public Service Guarantee Act has inspired out states of the country to adopt it in their
respective state. Some of the key achievements post implementation of the Act include:
413 Lok Seva Kendra are operational from the state to tehsil and block level.
Integration with MPO and CSC Kiosk for service delivery.
Over 5.9 applications have been received over the years since its inception in 2010.
98% of the applications have been successfully disposed of.
Power BI Analytics tool has been enabled for proper monitoring.
CHAT BOT services have been implemented for citizens.
34 services are being delivered within the same day.
More than 5 crore applications have been received since its inception of which 4.9
crore applications have been successfully disposed of.
Way Ahead:
Short Term Goals
Increase services under Samadhan 1 day
Over-the-counter service
Integration with MP citizen database ‘Samagra’
Social Media Integration
Multi-language option
GPR of all application forms and procedure
Long Term Goals:
Additional B2C services to Lok Seva Kendra portfolio
Enhancement of feedback mechanism through IVRS calls
Unified Portal for service delivery
Data analytics BI module on mobile for on-the-go monitoring
On premise service delivery for citizens using handheld devices
Single data repository formation
Awards and Recognition:
2nd position in the United Nation Public Service Award in 2012.
It has been a recipient of Skoch Merit of Order- Public Service delivery through Lok
Seva Kendra in 2013
State IT Award for excellence in e-Governance initiative in 2014 and
Gems of Digital India e-District award in 2018.
The gallery of achievements, recognitions and laurels serves a testimony to the success story
of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act. It would not be wrong to say that even
within a short time frame, the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act has successfully
been able to carve a niche.
Conclusion: The primary aim of the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act was to
make the system of service delivery simple, brisk, error free and convenient. The Act wanted
to change the previous manual system and replace it with advanced, improvised and efficient
digitalization. The aforementioned accomplishments certify that the Act has not only been
able to achieve its aim quite successfully but also set an example of good governance in the
country.
Comments