The Maharashtra Mandatory Electronic Delivery of Public Services Act

If the Maharashtra Mandatory Electronic Delivery of Public Services Act, 2010 is passed in the forthcoming budget session, citizens will have to interact with government officials only on policy and business matters. Payment of bills, issuance of certificates, licences and registrations will be completely online. “In five years, we want to ensure that at least 100 services are offered online,’’ said Vijayalaxmi Prasanna, secretary, information technology. The idea for the system comes from South Korea, where government services are online and payment transactions with the government have to be through credit cards. South Korea is rated number one in implementing e-governance, followed by Singapore. If the act is passed, Maharashtra will be the first state in the country to do so. Officials said the Centre was seeking inputs from Maharashtra to frame a similar act. The move is aimed at curbing corruption and to eliminate the government official as a go-between in delivering certain services. “At present, citizens who do not wish to grease palms and want their work done, have to resort to the Right to Information Act. Here, the system will ensure that when an application is made and payment done, the service is delivered within a specified time,’’ the officials said. To make it binding for government departments to go online, the state government has framed the act, which is being vetted by the finance and law & judiciary departments. The act will enable citizens to demand services to be online. For instance, students can demand that results be declared online and certificates to be issued online. A government department that has been asked to provide a service will have to state the timeframe within which it will be provided. If the service cannot be provided, a reason will have to be mentioned. If the department fails to comply, the citizen can appeal before the electronic service delivery commissioner, a post that will be created under the act. If a government department is unable to give satisfactory reasons for not providing services online, the commissioner can fine its head for up to Rs 5,000, which will be deducted from her/his salary. “With the RTI Act, citizens can seek information, but with this act, citizens can compel the government to be proactive,’’ the officials said.