A Brief on the Training on Citizens Charters and Social Accountability for the

participants of CESSD, Project, Government of Pakistan

Background

Accountability is the key for the functioning of any public service delivery organisation. Though the

system of accountability exists in the form of financial audits in these organizations, they are primarily

based on the information available in the records in the custody of these organizations. It is found that

most of the times audits in these public service delivery organizations have absolutely no element of audit

by the users/citizens who are the real beneficiaries of all the schemes and programmes run by these

organizations. There the relevance and need for social accountability at this juncture is very high, as it is

the user who can make the assessment of weather the benefits that were planned have reached them or

not and how satisfied they are with the services being provided to them by these agencies etc.

Citizen’s Charters are one of the critical Social Accountability tools that are being used extensively by the

public service delivery agencies to inform to the citizens on the services that are being provided by them

and the time within which the services would be provided to them. In India, the Citizen’s Charter

initiative was taken by the Government of India with a view to ensure quality in delivery of public service

to citizens. The programme is being implemented successfully in government departments at the Central

Government and in all State Governments. The Government of Andhra Pradesh took up this initiative in

October 1998, to enable departments to prepare and implement Citizens’ Charters through systematic

planning and training and orientation. The Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad is a national

resource institution supporting the capacity building initiatives on Citizen’s Charters in India.

A service delivery improvement project taken up by the

Government of Pakistan captioned, “Communications for

Effective Service Delivery Improvement Project” (CESSD) in

four districts of North West Frontier Province, i.e.;

Abbottabad, Nowshera, Peshawar and Swat is looking at

improving water, education and health related services delivery

to the citizens by the local government in partnership with the

Social accountability is defined as a “Proactive processes by which public officials inform the citizen’s

about their plan of action, their performance, their behavior and the improvements in delivery of

services.” This approach totally relies on civic engagement, in which ordinary citizens or civil society

organizations participate directly or indirectly with the service provider in assessing accountability of the

public servant. Social Accountability initiatives include participatory budgeting, social audits, citizen

report cards, and citizen charters which involve citizens in the oversight of government.

civil society. Through this initiative, for the first time in NWFP, Local Governments are displaying Public

Information Boards, District and Tehsil Council budget sessions are being televised and shown on local

cable networks. The Local Governments have also just begun on developing Citizens' Charters as a tool

for improving water supply and primary education, a collaborative venture between CESSD and the

Water and Sanitation program - South Asia.

As it was felt that there is little knowledge and

experience in developing and implementing

Citizen Charters in this region and hence there

is a need to provide hands on training to the

leaders of the towns from these provinces.

Therefore, WSP-SA planned an exposure visit

and training for CESSD staff and other

partners at CGG starting from November 1st-

November 4th 2007, through which first hand

information of the process of constructing a Citizen Charter and its applicability to the region in question

could be studied. The study tour was an intensive training experience in the formation and

operationalization of charters. The participants interacted with experts and practitioners on the subject to

understand in detail the various aspects of creating, advertising, and evaluating citizen charters.

The Process

A Citizen’s Charter is the expression of an understanding between the citizen and the public service

provider about the quantity and quality of services citizens receive in exchange for their taxes. As public

services are funded by citizens, either directly or indirectly through taxes, they have the right to expect a

particular quality of service that is responsive to their needs and is provided efficiently at a reasonable

cost. The Citizen’s Charter is a written, voluntary declaration by service providers about service standards,

choice, accessibility, non-discrimination, transparency and accountability. Therefore, it is a useful way of

defining for the customers, the nature of service provision and explicit standards of service delivery.

If successfully implemented, the charter can enable the following:

• Improved service delivery;

• Greater responsiveness of officials towards the public; and

• Greater public satisfaction with services.

Components of Citizen’s Charter

There are six components to the Citizen’s Charter:

1. Agreed and published standards for service delivery;

2. Openness and information about service delivery;

3. Choice for the citizen and consultation with users about service levels and quality;

4. Courtesy and helpfulness in service delivery;

5. Provision of redress when services are not delivered to the published standards; and

6. Value for the money.

What Makes a Good Charter?

• Focus on Customer Requirements

• Simple Language

• Service standards

• Effective Remedies

• Delegation

• Feedback Mechanism

• Close Monitoring

• Periodic Review

• Training

Dos and Don'ts for Implementing the Charters

Sl. No.

Dos Don'ts

1 Make haste, slowly. Don't merely make haste.

2 List areas of interface. Don't be unrealistic.

3 Phase out areas for introduction of small steps. Don't take on more than you can commit.

4 Involve customer and staff in formulating and implementing it

Don't involve only senior officers in the formulation and implementation.

5 Prepare a Master Plan for formulation and implementation over five years and budget for it.

Don't rush into an overall package for the whole Ministry/Department/ Organisation,

6 Win consumer confidence with small, highly visible measures.

Don't promise more than you can deliver.

7 Remember Citizens' Charter is a process, constantly evolving.

Don't look upon it as a one-time exercise, with a final outcome.

8 Inform the customer of the proposed commitments.

Don't inform the customer unless you are sure of delivering the service.

9 Use simple language. Don't use difficult language or jargon.

10 Train you staff. Don't leave yourself out.

11 Delegate powers. Don't centralise.

12 Set up systems for feedback and independent scrutiny.

Don't continue blindly without regular periodic reassessment of performance.

Flowchart on the Main Features of Developing a Charter

Plan how to develop the charter

Get support from Ministers and senior managers; decide who will produce your charter

and list the resources needed.

Build a partnership with users and staff

Produce a plan for taking the work forward. Consult with users, staff, and other

providers about how to develop a charter. Determine roles and responsibilities.

Collect relevant information Examine service areas that matter most to users through available

information and by asking them.

Circulate draft charter

Produce a draft charter to show users,

potential users, staff and other

organisations and decide how to include

their views.

Revise draft charter Include comments and inform users

and staff about the changes

Finalise the Charter

Launch internally and ensure training needs of all affected officials are identified and training

provision made. Make sure staff are ready for the launch and know what is expected of them.

Monitor performance Against standards and regularly publish

performance information.

Carry out further

consultation if necessary

Launch, publicise and distribute the charter Ensure Charter is displayed in all offices. Make sure everyone in your organisation has

access to a copy.

Review your charter standards

Case Study 1: eSeva

The eSeva experiment in Andhra

Pradesh has been very successful and

has made available basic services to

the citizen at the click of a button.

The team visited the eSeva Centre,

where the officials explained to them

in detail about its salient features.

There are 46 eSeva centres (with 400

service counters) spread over the

Twin Cities and Ranga- Reddy

District. All service counters are

facilitated with an electronic queuing system operating from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, on all working days. It is

a 'One-stop-shop' for over 66 G2C and B2C services. Any citizen in the twin cities can avail of the

services at any of the 46 eSeva service centres without any jurisdiction limits. Online services are also

available including eForms, eFiling, ePayments and payments by cash/cheque/DD/credit card/Internet.

Some Major Services Available at eSeva

Payment of Utilities Bills Certificates Permits / Licences

Electricity bills

Water and sewerage bills

Telephone bills (BSNL & TATA

Tele Services)

Property Tax

Sales Tax

Registration of births / deaths

Issue of birth / death certificates

Registration Department : Issue of

encumbrance certificates *

Issue of Caste/Nativity Certificates *

Labour Department License New

Registration

License Renewal

Medical and Health

Department: Renewal of

Drug Licences *

Issue / renewal of trade

licences

Transport Department Services

Polices Services Reservation

Change of address of a vehicle

owner

Transfer of ownership of a

vehicle

Issue of learners' licences

Issue / renewal of driving

licences (non-transport vehicles).

Registration of new vehicles

• Payment of Inquest/Panchanama

fees 50 Rs.

• Payment for First Information

Report 50 Rs.

• Payment for Inquest/Panchanama

fees 50 Rs.

• Payment for Post Mortem Report

50Rs.

Reservation of APSRTC

bus tickets

HMWSSB: Reservation of

water tanker

Tourism: Reservation of

tickets/ accommodation *

Other Services at eSeva Centres

Internet Services

Sale of passport application

forms

Receipt of passport applications

Receipt of applications for new

telephone connections.*

Registration Department: Sale of

non-judicial stamps

Registration Department:

Document writing service *

Collection of small savings *

Internet-enabled electronic payments

Downloading of forms and

Government Orders (GOs)

Filing of applications on the web

Receipt of complaints or requests in

connection with citizen services *

Case Study 2: Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Authority

The second visit of the participants was to

the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport

Authority. A detailed presentation was

made by the Commissioner Transport on

the process reengineering that was taken up

by the organisation and the extensive use of

information technology that was used in the

process. The organisation also involved

extensively the internal staff in the process

of change and also the civil society for

greater acceptability to change. The key factor that led to the success of the organisation was the total

support from the Government. There were extensive consultations held with all stakeholders from time

to time during the process reengineering phase. The Commissioner explained that the process is an

ongoing one and the organisation is still exploring the possibility of reducing timelines for service delivery

on some of the services like issue of licenses etc by use of IT. The process is continuing in RTA for

providing services faster to the common man.

Information and grievance redressal mechanism is in place wherein a toll free (1074) facility for

disseminating information regarding services/ complaints is available. All information pertaining to

citizen services and forms are available through web on www.aptransport.org / www.aptransport.gov.in

and feed back forms are monitored for betterment. The system has resulted in greater transparency,

accountability and increased efficiency of the staff. The revenues have also increased through effective

monitoring and effective check on circulation of bogus licenses/ registrations/ permits.

Highlights of Services

• Provides 54 citizen services relating to Driving Licences, Vehicle Registrations and Permits

• Functions on a robust and extensive network

• Available at a vast dedicated network of 38 RTAs and 33 mini RTOs

• Available at additional service delivery points like e-Seva Centers, Automobile Dealerships, etc.

• Citizens can download all forms from the Dept. website

Case Study 3: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation

The third best practice

organisation visited by the

participants was the Greater

Hyderabad Municipal

Corporation. The Corporation has

taken a big step towards

accessibility, transparency and

accountability through the use of

e governance. Approach the

organisation has taken towards e-

governance is to make it a

paperless organization with

authenticated and accurate digital data. Adherence to the Citizen Charters is made mandatory to bring in

greater transparency and accountability. The discussion centered round a project captioned, “Hyderabad

First”, a project that reaches out to the citizens.

Hyderabad first the Faster Choice offers the following services:

• Settlement and payment of Property Tax

• Payment Gateway for Online Payments

• Digital Signatures

• Instant Birth / Death Registration

• Instant Birth / Death Certificates’ Issuance

• ILook

• C2C Services

• Fund Your City

• Submission and tracking of Building Plan

Applications

• Public Grievance lodging through Parishkruthi

• Tenders’ Submission & Management System

• File Management System

• Legal Case Management System

• Citizens Forum

• Opinion Polls and GIS for resource planning

and decision Making

• City Managers’ Training Centre

• AASARA for Senior Citizens

• Status of Infrastructure works

Access through Various Service Delivery Mechanisms

Sl

No.

Service Name No. of Service

Delivery Points

Avg. No. of Citizens utilising

the services per day

1 e-Seva 50 500

2 Zonal Offices 5 600

2 Circle Offices 18 3000

3 Commissioner & Head Office 1 100

4 AP Online 300 700

5 Internet (www.ghmc.gov.in) Anywhere 600

6 Call Center 1 500

7 Citizen Service Centers 5 1800

Total : 7,800

Online Issue of Birth and Death Certificates

Another major feature of the programme is that citizens can get their birth/death certificates delivered to

them quickly. Citizens have the facility to indent these certificates through the website which is sent

through courier to their door steps. By maintaining the database of births & deaths on the computer, the

process of sorting, searching and accessing the database is now simplified. The citizens can get their

records updated, as they have the facility of checking whether their name is registered or not through the

web site. The Citizen Service Centers or e-Seva centers provide the citizens the facility to collect their

certificates on demand instantly. This is made possible because the records pertaining to them have been

thrown open and it is now possible for them to get necessary rectification on their records without any

delay.

Parishkruthi– e-GRIEVANCES

A software package has been developed allowing the

citizens a user-friendly access to the Greater Hyderabad

Municipal Corporation. Public can file their grievances and

know the status by logging onto the website. Grievances

follow-up is based on hierarchy automatically. Grievances

can be forwarded low level to high level category. For

example AE to EE and EE to concerned officer. GIS

based Support System is planned for Grievances. SMS has

also been integrated with the grievance module. The status

of the complaint can also be verified online on the website.

In addition to this, an integrated system has been designated to accept the grievance by any mode viz.,

Internet, Call Centre, Citizen Service Centre, Commissioner's Office and the officers can redress these

grievances through their respective logins. Several MIS reports have been developed in order to ensure

proper and timely redressal of the grievances. GHMC has own call center services to clear civic problems

on dialing 155304. Grievances will be registered through the following modes through Internet, Call

Center, Citizen Service Center, Commissioner’s Mode.

Key Lessons learnt

Citizen’s Charters can successfully achieve the objectives of good governance provided a robust frame

work is in place to ensure the progress from formulation of charters to implementation of charters and

from implementation to receiving citizen feedback and from citizen feedback to review, evaluation and

updating of Charters. In building such a framework, the critical areas that have a bearing on the efficient

and effective service delivery to the citizens through the Charters need to be continuously monitored

leading to corrective and timely steps to ensure their success.

The key lessons learnt from the visit to the three best practice organizations include:

• Complete government support (top leadership) to the implementation of the programme

• Preparing the organisation for implementing charters is very critical and it has been observed that the

organisation that have prepared a base within the organisation for this change have been successful in

implementation. This also involves training and capacity building of the staff and personnel who are

involved in the implementation of the charters.

• Extensive consultations with the key stakeholders are a key factor for the successful implementation

of the charters.

• Accessibility of concerned officers in the organizations for assistance in case of any problem

encountered by the citizen.

• Developing Service Delivery Standards is one of the key elements for effective implementation of the

charters.

• Display of Charters is another important concern in the charter implementation

• Internal review and monitoring of charters in most of the cases has given the required impetus to

successful implementation.

• Feedback from end users in regular intervals as a method for brining about internal corrections has

proved very useful.

• Awareness generation among public about the existence of the citizen’s charters is a key factor in the

charter implementation scheme.