Citizens charter - indian scene (1)

Citizens Charter - Indian scene (1)

The concept of Citizens' Charter enshrines the trust between the service provider and its users. It was in this climate that a consensus was being evolved in the Government on effective and responsive administration. A beginning was made in in 1994, when consumer rights activists made a charter for health service providers at a meeting of the Central Consumer Protection Council in Delhi. Later on, in Chief Ministers Conference held in May, 1997 in New Delhi, presided over by the Prime Minister of India, an 'Action Plan for Effective and Responsive Government' at the Centre and State levels was adopted paving the way for the formulation of charters among ministries, departments and agencies. The three main areas of the Action Plan discussed in the Conference of Chief Ministers were: (a) Making administration accountable and citizen-friendly; (b) Ensuring transparency and right to information; and (c) Taking measures to clear and motivate civil services.

The major recommendations emerging from this Conference were the following:

(i) Public accountability should be interpreted in a broader sense to include public

satisfaction and responsive delivery of public services;

(ii) The Citizen’s Charters should be introduced phase-wise for as many service

institutions as possible; and

(iii) The Citizen’s Charters should be introduced in the Departments of the

Central and State Governments starting with those with a large public interface.

The entire aim of above was to make the government citizen-friendly and accountable.

Source : GOI website and from internet websites