The Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015 (MRTPS Act) was enacted for transparent, efficient and timely delivery of public services to citizens and to bring in transparency and accountability among the public authorities. Geetanjali Minhas spoke to Manu Kumar Srivastava, chief commissioner, Maharashtra State Commission for Right to Service, on the execution of the law and steps being taken for its effective implementation.  

How do you see the implementation of Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act in the state as of now?
One can use different yardsticks to measure the degree of success in implementing the MRTPS Act, 2015. The Act aims to provide efficient and timely delivery of notified services to the citizens of Maharashtra. Significant progress has been made in notifying services under the Act. To date, 662 services are notified, ensuring that citizens can access these services in a transparent and timely manner. (Notification of services is the prerogative of the departments; the commission exhorts departments to notify maximum number of services.)

The Act places a lot of emphasis on the use of IT platform for delivery of services. Here again, the performance is fairly satisfactory, because we have been able to develop a common portal called ‘Aaple Sarkar Portal’ (ASP) and also a mobile app for Android users, where out of total 662 notified services, 453 services are currently available. Software development and integration of portals for the remaining services is in progress.

The performance of timely delivery of services has been fairly satisfactory too. Out of 16,27,78,193 applications received (1 October 2015 - 11 June 2024), 15,38,98,973 applications were disposed of. In 2022-2023, total 2,07,64,309 applications were received, out of which 1,90,04,357  applications were processed. Out of these, 82.27% (1,56,35,000)applications were processed within stipulated time limit.
However, awareness about the Act, the Commission and the Unified Portal among the general public remains a key challenge. The Commission now is working to undertake awareness campaign to address this aspect.

As the Chief Commissioner, Right to Service, what are your priorities?
The Commission is focusing on-                                                                            

(a) Notification of maximum number of services: 529 services were notified by 31 March 2023. Currently 662 services are notified. We are working to notify maximum number of services and following up with each department for the same by holding regular meetings. (However, it should be noted that irrespective of notification, services are available to the citizens. Notification makes the time-bound provision of service mandatory under the Act and subject to penal action for denial or delay.)

(b) Leveraging IT to provide all notified services online through the unified service portal, ‘Aaple Sarkar’. Currently, 453 services are being provided through the portal. To ensure timely delivery of services to the applicants, we have recommended to the government to provide auto appeal facility. We have also recommended development of Aaple Sarkar Version 2.0 (upgraded portal with new features) which was recently approved as part of MAHASTRIDE, a World Bank Project, along with business process reengineering of services.
    
(c) Creating awareness and rewarding good performance: Our utmost priority is creating awareness and robust outreach towards the MRTPS Act and ASP for which we have got a budget of approximately Rs. 10 crore sanctioned from the government for 2024-25. We propose to start a publicity campaign for awareness generation regarding the Act, the portal and the Commission through digital/ social/outdoor media and AVs. We have already initiated the process and working towards the same. As per section 20(5) (a) of the Act, in order to encourage and enhance efficiency of the designated officers, we have proposed a reward scheme for them, which we have submitted to the government.

(d) Building capacity: The Act requires various functionaries to have a service delivery mindset. They need to be trained about its provisions as well as working of the portal. We are prioritising capacity building of designated officers and other functionaries for which we have submitted a detailed proposal to the government and we are hopeful that the programme will be implemented soon.   

How is Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act different from Right to Information Act?
Both Acts are different with distinct objectives. The RTI Act 2005 aims to provide citizens with access to information from public authorities, while the MRTPS Act 2015 aims to ensure public services to citizens.
The RTI Act focuses on transparency and accountability in the government decision-making process, while MRTPS Act focuses on efficient and effective delivery of public services.

Under the RTI Act, citizens can seek information from public authorities. Sensitive information related to national security, privacy and intellectual property is exempted. Under the MRTPS Act, citizens have a right to receive notified public services within a stipulated time limit subject to necessary compliances.

In terms of scope, the RTI Act applies to all public authorities of the central government and the governments of all the states and union territories. The MRTPS Act is limited to notified public services within the state of Maharashtra. The RTI Act focuses on transparency while the MRTPS Act focuses on accountability and efficient /timely delivery of services.

In its 2023 report, CAG has said 45% Aaple Sarkar Kendra’s are not providing notified services as required under the Act and that their performance was not satisfactory. It has highlighted issues of pending applications and delays in delivery of services within stipulated time even when service charges from citizens are recovered. It has called for the government to prepare a master list of services to be provided to citizens and for departments to notify those services in a time bound manner. How do you view the scenario at present?
There are a total of 40,280 Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra’s (ASSK) in Maharashtra. The number of required ASSK’s as per the norms of population in rural as well as urban area has been specified under the IT Department’s government resolution dated 19.01.2018. The collectors are being advised to rationalise the number and location of ASSK’s in accordance with the said GR.
 
Secondly, as per section 3(1) of MRTPS Act, 2015, it is the responsibility of every public authority to notify services rendered by it within a period of three months from the date of commencement of this Act and thereafter from time to time. The Commission has written to various departments to prepare the master list of services rendered by each department as per the citizens’ charter, and as per the master list, a maximum number of services have to be notified under the Act. Accordingly, as on today, 28 departments have notified 662 services under the Act. The commission is constantly following up with the departments to prepare their master list of services, notify a maximum number of services and provide the same through online ASP.

Please tell us how you are strengthening e-enablement of services in each department as well as audit trail in department systems for transactional history records.
We are regularly reviewing the progress of departments regarding developing software applications for online delivery of services. There has been a significant increase in the number of online available services – from 387 to 543 in the last one year. Online services being provided by the individual departments, as the case may be, are being integrated into ASP. We have advised all departments to completely discontinue offline delivery of services once online software solutions are available.

What is your message to citizens?
Eligible citizens have a statutory right to receive public services within a stipulated time frame. They should file their application along with necessary documents, pay the required fee and get the service as a matter of right. If the service is not provided within time or denied, they should file an appeal and get a hearing. The Act protects their rights to secure timely delivery of public services and promotes transparency and accountability. It empowers the citizens to demand services as a matter of right rather than as a favour and provides a mechanism for appeal and redressal if services are not delivered within a specified time frame.