Latest news with #RighttoServicesAct
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Anbumani launches padayatra to realise ‘Dr. Ayya's dreams'
PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Friday launched a padayatra to realise what he called 'the dream of Dr. Ayya (his estranged father and party founder S. Ramadoss)' — of a Tamil Nadu that is free from liquor and drugs and where farmers are happy, workers are in a position of power, and everyone has access to education and health care. Dr. Ramadoss had earlier petitioned the police to restrain his son from taking out the padayatra, alleging that it would cause law and order issues in northern Tamil Nadu. Beginning his padayatra after offering prayers at the Thiruporur Kandaswamy Temple, Dr. Anbumani garlanded B.R. Ambedkar's statue on the way to a public meeting near the roundabout. He criticised Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for the state of law and order, violence against women, and failure to implement 10.5% internal reservation for the Vanniyars within the MBC category. 'We are seeing a Chief Minister who gives a two-hour call-sheet every day. He comes, someone will say 'action', he will act, and then they will play the video the whole day [on media channels],' he said. 'People are angry and farmers are angry. The women, including girls, are unable to go out. The Chief Minister is responsible for it. For, the Police Department is under his control. Recently, a young girl of Tiruvallur district was sexually assaulted. Such incidents happened at Anna Nagar [in Chennai], Krishnagiri, Pollachi, and Tiruchi. Women are suffering sexual assaults,' he said. 'Government employees and teachers are responsible for the DMK to come to power. They demanded that the old pension scheme be brought back. Seven States have already brought it back. Why can't Tamil Nadu do it? They have constituted a committee. What about the Sridhar Committee? The Shantha Sheela Nair Committee? When the DMK wants to postpone doing something, it will constitute a committee. And just before the election, when the committee submits its findings, it will promise to implement the recommendations after the election. This time, they [the people] can't be fooled,' he said. According to him, the recently launched 'Ungaludan Stalin' scheme had come too late. The PMK had earlier proposed a law to guarantee government services to the people. 'The government has launched 'Ungaludan Stalin' to provide services by organising special camps. What were you doing for four-and-a-half years? The PMK demanded, 15 years ago, that the government pass a law, named 'Right to Services Act'. Had such a law been passed, there would have been no need to hold these camps. This is our right, and it is the duty of the State government to guarantee it,' he said. Dr. Anbumani said Mr. Stalin claims that he hails from the Delta region, but has no connection with farming. 'Is there one farmer in Tamil Nadu who will say that he is happy? Do you know the agricultural growth in Tamil Nadu? It is -0.12%. If we consider the growth in milk production and fisheries, the growth is -5.68%. What has happened to the election promise that you would give ₹3,500 for a quintal of grain? What has happened to the promise that the government would give ₹5,000 for a tonne of sugar cane? Not a single farmer should vote for the DMK,' he said.
The Print
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
How Maharashtra trying to popularise Right to Services Act, brainchild of CM Fadnavis
The government has set a deadline of 31 May for all departments to notify public services—only notified services come under the ambit of the law—under the Right to Services Act. The failure to do so will result in penalties. The Fadnavis-led government plans to launch a mobile app for ease of registration for availing of services under the act, and also include chapters on the legislation in Class 9 and 10 textbooks of the state board, officials said. Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is launching special initiatives to popularise and expand its Right to Services Act—under which authorities are mandated to provide designated services to citizens in a transparent and timely manner. The provision was rolled out by Devendra Fadnavis during his first stint as chief minister in 2015. 'Ten years have passed, but we are still notifying services, which is a cause for concern. However, 1,027 services have been notified under the Act, up from 500 services last year,' said Manu Kumar Srivastava, a retired IAS officer who is now the chief commissioner of Right to Services. He was speaking at a civic engagement session organised by non-profit Mumbai First at an auditorium in Bandra Kurla Complex on Wednesday. Srivastava and his colleagues Baldev Singh and Dilip Shinde, both retired IAS officers, explained how to use the Right to Services, and also about the improvements the state government is bringing about in the service. Singh is the divisional commissioner for the Konkan division for Right to Services, while Shinde is the divisional commissioner for Pune. Right to Services, officially known as the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, came into force on 28 April 2015 to provide transparent, efficient, and timely public services in Maharashtra. Under the Act, public authorities were mandated to notify outside their offices and on websites public services they provide within three months along with the details of fees, designated officers and appellate authorities. 'The Right to Services is not well-known amongst the public because it came into existence only in 2015, 10 years after the RTI Act was implemented in 2005. The RTPSA aims to reduce compliance burden on citizens by using information technology to provide transparency and accountability in accessing public services, and only applies to notified services in a government gazette. Unless a public service is notified, the Act does not apply to it,' Chief Commissioner Srivastava said. He also announced the government is planning to introduce a chapter on the RTPSA in 9th and 10th standard school textbooks to raise awareness. Also Read: Why Maharashtra wants focus on urban population as metric for fund devolution under Finance Commission 95 percent disposal rate Over one crore people have registered on the RTS-Aaple Sarkar Portal—the site for gaining access to public services—which currently provides 583 services online. The deadline for integrating the remaining services on the portal is 15 August 2025 as decided by the Maharashtra government, Baldev Singh said. The portal has achieved a 95 percent disposal rate of applications since the implementation of RTPSA, 2015. As of 13 May 2025, 18,89,98,924 applications were received, of which 17,79,44,747 were disposed. Under the Act, a citizen can appeal a decision with the first and second appellate authorities up to 30 days after their application has been rejected and no service has been provided. The penalty for non-compliance by a designated officer ranges between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000. A user-friendly mobile application that provides easy access to citizens for services is currently under development, with features like a payment gateway and a designated workflow of officers. 'Poor interface, problems with helplines' During the question and answer segment, audience members raised multiple issues, such as 'poor' user interface and design of the website, 'non-response' to citizen complaints, problems with helpline numbers, 'poor' website servers, and 'non-compliance' by appellate authorities. Dharmesh Jhaveri, a businessman who had applied for revenue services six months ago, said he didn't receive any response despite repeated appeals for a report in relation to re-measurement of a land survey. 'I tried registering for revenue services on my land parcel last year on the Aaple Sarkar Portal, and paid the required fees. Despite trying multiple times to appeal the non-compliance with appellate authorities and the commissioners, I did not receive any response even after sending screenshots of the problem via mail,' said Jhaveri. Srivastava then asked Jhaveri if the service he was seeking had been notified, and assured him of looking into the matter if the problem wasn't resolved. 'The Act only provides for rules of 'notifying' service provisions and doesn't entail any complaint or redressal mechanism. Unlike Bihar, Maharashtra does not have rules for raising complaints with officers who do not comply on time. However, the government of Maharashtra plans to bring in a complaints mechanism soon, in line with Bihar's policy,' Srivastava said. He further added that the website sometimes faces server issues, which is why documents do not upload very quickly on the portal, and the mobile application will be launched soon for easy citizen service access in Maharashtra. Pooja Bhatia is an intern with ThePrint. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Maharashtra govt to train ITI students in disaster management as India-Pakistan tensions rise
