Why is a landmark law only on paper?

Jehangir Rashid, Srinagar

On April 9, 2011, the Jammu & Kashmir legislative assembly passed a landmark law, the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA), but it hasn’t been implemented at the grassroots as yet, say activists of the J&K Right to Information Movement. If made operative, it will radically change governance and make it much more pro-people, they assert.

The PSGA aims to provide doorstep delivery of public services to the people of the state. The Act empowers citizens to enforce their right to receive public services in a time-bound manner. Penalties can be imposed on officials for non-compliance with its provisions. A range of government departments which interact directly with the people are covered by it.

“As on date 102 services are covered by this legislation including key departments, such as revenue, power, public health, consumer affairs, and transport. All these have been notified under the Act with clearly defined timelines of 15 to 45 days. There are also provisions for accountability, including penalties and compensation for delays,” says Dr  Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, founder and chairman of the J&K Right to Information Movement.

Fifteen years on, people continue to face delays, corruption and administrative indifference since the Act is not being taken seriously by the administration, he says.

The lackadaisical attitude of successive governments to the PSGA has compelled Dr Rasool to approach the J&K High Court with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) through his advocate,  Naveed Bukhtiyar.

“The PSGA was operationalized through reforms in 2012. It remains one of the most transformative governance frameworks in the state. It  redefines the relationship between the citizen and the government through a legally enforceable guarantee of time-bound public services,” says Dr Rasool.

Although the Act was passed in 2011 it took the General Administration Department (GAD) of J&K seven years to mandate inclusion of services online for ease of doing business and for ensuring transparency and accountability. It was only on June 2, 2021 that the GAD finally issued a circular directing all departments to publish a citizens’ charter and strictly monitor the implementation of PSGA.

The PSGA was passed during the tenure of the National Conference government headed by Omar Abdullah in 2011. The People’s Democratic Party-BJP coalition government which took office in 2015 did nothing to implement it.

Matters turned worse after the coalition government collapsed in 2018. For several years there wasn’t an elected government in the state, which had been turned into a Union Territory.  The National Conference came to power in October 2024 so people are now keen that it take steps to implement the PSGA.

“No records have been maintained on the PSGA. There is no information on how many appeals have been filed by people seeking services or penalties imposed on public servants who have disregarded the provisions of this Act,” says Bukhtiyar.

Lauding the legislation, Dr Rasool says that alongside the Right to Information (RTI), the PSGA too has emerged as a cornerstone of accountable governance. It can bring tangible benefits to citizens by mandating timely delivery of essential services. Much like the visionary Land to the Tiller Act of 1976 which transferred land directly to cultivators, the PSGA too shifts power from closed institutions into the hands of ordinary people, he points out.

But societies are not transformed by mere legislation on paper, it requires enforcement of farsighted legislation. “The promise of PSGA is not merely administrative, it is deeply democratic. It is about dignity, rights and justice at the grassroots. The time has come to move from intent to impact, from legislation to transformation,” he adds.

Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Srinagar, says that when the PSGA was passed the people were hopeful that their issues or grievances would now be addressed in the shortest time possible.

“Under the PSGA the officers are held responsible for delay in delivery of notified services. The law also makes it clear that any officer who is responsible for providing a service should also ensure that there is no defect in the service being provided to the citizen. The Act is comprehensive and covers each and every aspect of ideal governance,” says Anwar.

Some of the objectives of the PSGA are reducing corruption, increasing transparency and public accountability, empowering people to use their right to prompt delivery of public services, reducing the gap between administration and people, streamlining delivery of public services and strengthening democracy at the grassroots.

“We strongly urge the Omar Abdullah government, since this law was conceived and enacted under your leadership, it must now be your mission to take it to its logical conclusion. Strengthen it, expand  and institutionalize it," says Dr Rasool.

He advises the sta te government to constitute a robust, independent commission to monitor implementation of the Act, notify  more essential services and ensure that every public servant is held accountable to the people they serve.