Explain the basic principles of citizens charter movement and bring out its importance. (UPSC IAS Mains 2019 General Studies Paper – 4)
Citizen’s Charter is a document of voluntary commitments made by a government organization to the citizens/client groups in respect of the services/schemes being provided to them or to be provided to them. The main objective of Citizen’s Charter is to improve the quality of public services. The aim of the exercise is to build bridges between citizens and administration and to streamline administration in tune with the needs of citizens. This is done by letting people know the mandate of the concerned Ministry/ Department/Organisation, how one can get in touch with its officials, what to expect by way of services and how to seek a remedy if something goes wrong.
Principles of Citizen Charter
- Quality: improving the quality of services
- Choice: for the users wherever possible
- Standards: specifying what to expect within a time frame
- Value: for taxpayers money
- Accountability: of the service provider (individual as well as organisation)
- Transparency: in rules, procedures, schemes and grievance redressal
- Participative: consult and involve
Importance
- It is helpful in making administration more transparent and accountable.
- It is citizen-centric in nature and makes the administration more citizen friendly.
- It promotes good governance
- It improves service delivery to the citizens.
- It provides a pathway for grievance redressal.
A Citizen Charter cannot be an end in itself, it is rather a means to an end- a tool to ensure that citizens always remain at the heart of any service delivery model.
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