RTPS Right to Public Services Timely and Transparent Governance
Introduction to RTPS
RTPS denotes Right to Public Services, a citizen-centric practice implemented in various states in India to achieve timely delivery of certain government services. The primary purpose of RTPS is to foster the delivery of public services to citizens in an efficient and timely manner, and to allow for transparency, accountability, and no corruption in the process.
Under RTPS, citizens have the legal right to receive certain government services in a timely manner as determined and specified by the government. If an entitled service is delayed, or denied for an unreasonable or unsatisfactory reason, the public service official person in authority may be held liable for that non-delivery of service.
Reason for the Introduction of RTPS
Before RTPS, citizens were systematically abused by the processes of government, and were the victims of the absence of timely service delivery, unresponsiveness to citizen’s concerns, and were forced to make multiple, repeated, and often unproductive visits to government offices, as well as unresponsiveness to citizen concerns. RTPS laws were designed to eliminate the above system by:
- Providing guaranteed time limits for the delivery of government services
Reducing the incidence and impact of bureaucratic delays, “red tape”, on service delivery
Improving the transparency of the processes of governance
Improving the accountability of public service officials
Empowering citizens to avail of lawful remedies and remedies provided for in the RTPS laws.
Key Features of RTPS
Common to all the states were the RTPS laws, as they all had certain common or universal features:
RTPS Right to Public Services Timely and Transparent Governance
Time Bound Services
For all established services that are to be provided, service delivery is to be provided and must be done in accordance with the service delivery timelines that are established by the government for the service.
Designated Officers
Specific officers of government are appointed for the delivery of the services and are held personally liable and accountable for service delivery.
Appellate Mechanism
In the event of delays or denial of services, citizens can escalate their concerns to higher office authorities.
Penalty Provision
Officials can receive monetary fines and/or face disciplinary actions due to delays and without justification.
Acknowledgement and Tracking
The acknowledgment number is received by the applicants to monitor their application in the queue.
Services Covered Under RTPS
These services vary from state to state, but the most common are:
Issuance of birth and death certificates
Caste and income and residence and certificates
Driving license and services of learner’s license
Services related to land records and mutations
Pension and welfare schemes of social types
Connections of electricity and water
How RTPS Benefits Citizens
Daily life experiences RTPS and the extensibility of the ease of access of reliable government services.
Time and effort savings by citizen
Corruption and bribery reduction
Service completion timeline
Government departments efficiency and trust improvements
Services Legal citizens empowerment
RTPS and Digital Governance
RTPS is closely integrated with online platforms and available portals due to the growth of e-governance. Services are now available to citizens online without the need to physically visit offices, allowing them to submit documents, obtain services, and track applications, all digitally.
Problems Encountered in RTPS Implementation in Trivandrum
It is RTPS greatest contradictory challenge.
Lack of knowledge of citizens
Lack of consistency in regional section
Limited digital literacy in rural regions
Lack of personnel and proper facilities
All of the aforementioned obstacles must be resolved for RTPS to reach its maximum possible potential.
Summary
RTPS is yet another significant advancement in the area of good governance and citizen empowerment.
RTPS also delivers public services in a timely manner, making public officials directly and individually accountable to the citizen and alleviating the democratic deficit. RTPS cements the trust and confidence of the citizen in the government.
Fully functioning RTPS, active awareness services, good and established digital facilities, and strict control are of the utmost importance. When all of these conditions are satisfied, RTPS converts public service delivery from a privilege to legal right.
