The provision of public services—such as health care, education, sanitation and criminal justice—is a key task for government. When Government delivers all the basic requirements of people, it can easily attain consumer satisfaction and votes.

The Delhi Government for all its limitations must be complimented in its effort to touch the lives of residents day in and day out. Its showcase programme of delivering a host of services to the doorstep of the Capital’s residents is now on the verge of fruition and set to be rolled out from 10 September. Chores like paying taxes, applying for various welfare schemes and obtaining crucial documents like driving licenses, birth/death/marriage/income/caste certificates are some of the most concrete forms of the Citizen-Government interface Services are, therefore, crucial in shaping trust and perception. And it goes without saying that with growing needs and vaulting aspirations not to mention a desire for accountability from those we elect to govern us, citizens expect transparent, accessible, and convenient delivery of services as well as redressal of grievances. In an era of digitisation, online portals have come as a boon for Governments willing to use technology in the public interest and credit must also be given to the Central Government under Narendra Modi to have pushed back Luddite tendencies and promoted this approach in a big way as part of a best-practice template for governance. The AAP Government in Delhi has been innovative in applying its mind to focus on the service-delivery mechanism.

The Delhi Government’s emphasis on a customer-centric approach in designing a mechanism to get about a hundred services delivered to the doorstep of the citizen at a minimal cost of Rs 50 can, if properly implemented, become a good governance landmark in India. Under the scheme, assistants or mobile sahayaks would be  provided all necessary equipment like cameras, biometric devices, printers etc would be at service of the citizen at his or her doorstep to complete all formalities for which they had to otherwise stand in long queues, often requiring to skip work for the day, in order to visit Government offices. The delivery of various certificates and licences will also be at home. Naturally, services for which physical presence is necessary, for example a driving test for a driving licence, will still involve going to the RTO but all the accompanying formalities will be online and the licence itself will be delivered home if so desired. For the initiative to have the desired result, though the administration needs to work very hard on creating an ambient governance atmosphere. An important component of customer satisfaction is feedback. Although the Delhi Government has planned for a customer care service portal, it must make sure that it is prompt to respond and ensure redress; unattended phone calls, for example, would sound its death knell. It also important to not just collect feedback but also analyse and act upon it. For the scheme to truly touch the lives of citizens it must penetrate into the deepest pockets of the Capital and not remain limited to a few VIP areas. The administration will also have ensure coordination between its various departments which are notorious for graft, protecting turf and inefficiency. Transforming service delivery to the citizen is not an easy task but to have even attempted it is an excellent portent.

Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer

The provision of public services—such as health care, education, sanitation and criminal justice—is a key task for government. When Government delivers all the basic requirements of people, it can easily attain consumer satisfaction and votes.

The Delhi Government for all its limitations must be complimented in its effort to touch the lives of residents day in and day out. Its showcase programme of delivering a host of services to the doorstep of the Capital’s residents is now on the verge of fruition and set to be rolled out from 10 September. Chores like paying taxes, applying for various welfare schemes and obtaining crucial documents like driving licenses, birth/death/marriage/income/caste certificates are some of the most concrete forms of the Citizen-Government interface Services are, therefore, crucial in shaping trust and perception. And it goes without saying that with growing needs and vaulting aspirations not to mention a desire for accountability from those we elect to govern us, citizens expect transparent, accessible, and convenient delivery of services as well as redressal of grievances. In an era of digitisation, online portals have come as a boon for Governments willing to use technology in the public interest and credit must also be given to the Central Government under Narendra Modi to have pushed back Luddite tendencies and promoted this approach in a big way as part of a best-practice template for governance. The AAP Government in Delhi has been innovative in applying its mind to focus on the service-delivery mechanism.

The Delhi Government’s emphasis on a customer-centric approach in designing a mechanism to get about a hundred services delivered to the doorstep of the citizen at a minimal cost of Rs 50 can, if properly implemented, become a good governance landmark in India. Under the scheme, assistants or mobile sahayaks would be  provided all necessary equipment like cameras, biometric devices, printers etc would be at service of the citizen at his or her doorstep to complete all formalities for which they had to otherwise stand in long queues, often requiring to skip work for the day, in order to visit Government offices. The delivery of various certificates and licences will also be at home. Naturally, services for which physical presence is necessary, for example a driving test for a driving licence, will still involve going to the RTO but all the accompanying formalities will be online and the licence itself will be delivered home if so desired. For the initiative to have the desired result, though the administration needs to work very hard on creating an ambient governance atmosphere. An important component of customer satisfaction is feedback. Although the Delhi Government has planned for a customer care service portal, it must make sure that it is prompt to respond and ensure redress; unattended phone calls, for example, would sound its death knell. It also important to not just collect feedback but also analyse and act upon it. For the scheme to truly touch the lives of citizens it must penetrate into the deepest pockets of the Capital and not remain limited to a few VIP areas. The administration will also have ensure coordination between its various departments which are notorious for graft, protecting turf and inefficiency. Transforming service delivery to the citizen is not an easy task but to have even attempted it is an excellent portent.

Writer & Courtesy: The Pioneer