LIVE TV
Odisha
Recommended Stories
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday rolled out the much-desired public services for citizens under the Odisha Right to Public Service Act, 2012.
Under the new act, people will get services like issue of driving license, birth and death certificates, passport and trade license within a stipulated time.
Officials have to give a time limit to provide the services, failing which they would be liable for penalties.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the public service delivery system under the act, which was passed during the winter session of the assembly last month.
"Now citizens will consider public service as their right and not a favour. Further, this act will bring in much more accountability, transparency and equitability in the delivery of public services," Patnaik said.
He said it was a historic day for the state as the government has been committed to provide service to people within a specific time period. "An era of good governance has started from today," he said.
Altogether 34 services of seven administrative departments will come under the purview of the Act.
The departments which would provide services in the first phase were -- Commerce and Transport (11), Revenue and Disaster Management (12), Health and Family Welfare (3), Finance (2), Home (2), Rural Development (1) and Women and Child Development (1).
The state government has instructed departments to fix the time limit for a particular service and display it for public knowledge.
Official sources said about 100 services would be provided to the people under the new act.
Odisha is the 12th state to implement the law after Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttarakhandand Chhattishgarh.
