International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848

CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md

Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1050
Citizens Charter Model as an Instrument of
Renovation of Public Service Delivery System
Md Munazir Alam
Research Scholar
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, 110025
Email: - munaziralam@gmail.com
Abstract
Twentieth century has passed and we
are standing at the threshold of second
decade of 21
st
century, which is the era
of some kind of renovation of old or
traditional model which have been
dysfunctional to achieve the goals set
by policy maker for the wellbeing of
citizens. Looking at the past and
reviewing the various plans,
programmes and schemes for public
service delivery, the finding have
shown that these schemes have been
ineffective and over expansive which
led to the criticism for not providing
public service well to the citizen. In
this regard, citizens is one instrument
at local level, enhancing the efficiency
of bureaucratic apparatus, increasing
the peoples satisfaction with respect to
quality of governmental services and
its delivery in efficient and effective
manner to the entitled people,
Keywords
Citizens Charter Model, Instrument of
Renovation, Public Service Delivery
System, traditional model, bureaucratic
apparatus
Introduction
Any society is considered well established
where goods and services are provided
regularly by the responsible agencies,
because availability of goods and services
among the citizen is the best parameter to
judge the quality of life of people residing
in a fixed domain.
It is well known that goods and services are
made available by public or private
institution, agencies, organization.
Generally public services are those services
which are delivered by government to
fulfill the needs to its citizen residing within
its territory. There are various kinds of
services like health, education, sewage etc




International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848
CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md
Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1051
On the other hand public service delivery is
institutional arrangements to implement
those services provided by government to
its citizens. Though there are various core
functions of government but one of them
public service delivery is important one.
Analysis and Discussion
Generally public services are grouped into
three categories:-
1. Goods services: - which includes
food distribution, waters,
electricity.
2. Administration services:-it deals
with land certificate, marriage,
birth, and death certificate more or
less all kind of formal documents.
3. Facilitating Services:-among the
facilitating services there is health
education. Post transportation etc.
The basic difference between Public
and private institution has been
from the beginning, the pattern of
public service delivery, which
particularly in developing countries
has been unproductive, insufficient,
and vexatious and plagued with red
tapism, without transparency.

It clearly spells out, that public
services provider even today acting
as a master while it is true that they
are appointed as a servant of
common citizen, the real master.
Today if we look at in society most
of the people are unaware about
their rights and services, that is how
and from where to obtain a service
and consequently it leads to the
corruptions. It is also fact that red
tapism also contributed in wastage
of time.

The most challenging issue that
faces a democracies society is how
the public agencies, responsible for
service delivery could be made
more prompt, responsive,
accountable, and transparent and
cost effective.

Today Indian state faces serious
need to renovate the mechanism of
public services delivery. In fact over
a decade there is a rapid economic
growth in India, but the problem,
before both the central and state
government, is to ensure inclusive
growth so that the benefits of
economics gain could be distributed
in just way for the needy section of
society. Services having high
quality such as education and
health, perform an important role in
enhancing individual capacity
which leads in participation of all




International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848
CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md
Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1052
kinds of development, A heavy
amount is being allocated to public
services in every budget but it is
evident that benefits on these
allocated amount goes to the rich, if
services reach to non poor, its
generally low quality and
dysfunction.
Traditional model of accountability,
bureaucratic, complexities and
procedure make it difficult for the
citizen for timely and quality
delivery of services. Citizen suffers
a lot due to indifference shown by
staff to their problem. Even there is
little sympathetic response from
office while seeking the services by
the people. The lack of transparency
and secrecy even today is being
followed which had been left by
colonial rulers. Besides, prevalent
of corruption has also geared up
injustices favoritism and
discrimination in public service
delivery. The frequent transfer of
key civil servants has enormously
contributed to failure in delivery of
services. The citizen (Particularity
the Poor) faces more barriers in
accessing over a free public
services, because they failure to
paid the implied cost, also people
residing in remote rural areas
deprived from receiving banking
and medical facilities due to lack of
infrastructure, unawareness about
policies and programme also
generated low voice among people.
Even today society had
various forms of discriminated and
deprivation in allocating of public
services which should be abolished
so that there is a justice and equality
in public services delivery.

So growing dissatisfaction
among the citizen regarding public
services delivery has focused that,
today public services delivery
system is in crisis and plagued with
many impediments, so there is or
gents need of renovation in public
service delivery system.
To meet all the challenges
and programmers several imitative
have been adopted since
independence. It is well established
norm that democratic governance
foster the principle of transparency,
accountability and responsibility,
fairness equality morality and ethics
which is an essential elements to
improve public service delivery.

Hence for all, that reasons the
concept of citizen charters was




International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848
CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md
Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1053
launches to improve service
delivery mechanism. Citizens
charter actually is written, voluntary
commitment or declaration by any
organization that provides services.
Citizens charter highlights the
services standard, nature of services
information choice and consultation
process of grievance redressed and
their avenues.
It is evident that
administrations of developing
countries are rigid, rule bounded,
inefficient and unresponsive to their
clients. Citizens charter thus has
been adopted as an innovated model
to improve quality of services and to
meet the requirement of consumers.
We can say Citizens Charter is a
tool to bridge the gap between
services seekers (consumer) and
service provider (government
official).
The concept of citizen charter is
based upon two major theories first
is good governance and second is
new public management.
Though, concept of good
governance in India is very old but
since 1980, it has gained greater
importance because the core aspect
of good government is consensus,
transparency, accountability and
responsibility. Consensus oriented,
participatory effective and efficient
administration, follows the rule of
law equitable and inclusiveness.
Among the above mentioned aspect
the three aspects is more important
namely transparency,
accountability and responsibility of
administration.
Actually good governance is a
concept which deals with efficient
public service delivery, trust worthy
legal mechanism and citizen centric
administration.
Under the patronage of good
governance to promote
effectiveness in public services
delivery citizen character is a new
development. The basic purpose of
citizen character is to provide
necessary information about
government services like, time, cost
of services delivery, and grievances
etc with respect to the public service
delivery, so it may be said that
citizen character is a model of
ensuring good governance.
Transparency in administration
implies non opaque administration
i.e free access to information what
is going on in administration, how
decision are made, who is in charge
how and when good and services




International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848
CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md
Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1054
are delivered and so on. Thus
transparency is the patronage of
procedural clarity.
To be responsive about the
consumers need is successful key
to effective services delivery. But in
past, even today, discretionary
nature and less responsiveness have
been the characteristics of
administration.
Responsiveness is a quick response
to the demand. Recently Citizens
Charter under the patronage of good
governance has made
administration more responsive.
Accountability has been the key
issues for any society.
Accountability is an obligation of
an official the account for its
activities; accept responsibility for
them and to disclose the result in
transparent manners. The basic
mean to ensure accountability is
grievance redressed mechanism and
providing information regarding
services. Both principle are fostered
by the citizen character.
The second concept, new public
management (NPM) is latest
doctrine of reforms in public
administration which aims at to
improve public service delivery.
NPM term first referred by Hood
which spells out broadly the
government policies since 1980,
that aimed to modernize and render
more effective to public agencies.
NPM points out that market
oriented management in public
sectors will lead to greater cost
efficiency for government. There
are four basis model of NPM
namely the Efficiency drive model,
Downsizing model, and
Decentralization, Excellence search
model and Public services
orientation model. Among the
above model the fourth model of
NPM emphasizes upon services
quality, participation and
accountability, consumers voice
reliance, citizenship concept.
Thus main element of Citizens
Charter is transparency
accountability and responsiveness
which is the major component of
NPM and good governance.
Citizens charter concept is a means
to establish trust between the
service provider and its users.
Actually in 1991, for the betterment
of quality of services and establish
the trust between service seeker and
service provider, under the
leadership of John Major the then




International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848
CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md
Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1055
prime of UK, the concept of CC was
launched with six principle like
-To improve service quality;
-To provide choice;
-To specify what to expect and how
to act if standards are not met;
-To add value for the taxpayers
money;
-To be accountable to individual
and organizations; and
-To ensure transparency in rules,
procedure, grievance etc .
But in 1998 the charter programme
were re-launched under the
leadership of Prime Minister Tony
Blair and it was renamed as service
first and given nine principle of
Citizens Charter they are as
follows.
To set service standard;
To be open and provide full
information:
To consult and involve;
To treat all fairly;
Putting things right when they go
wrong;
To use resource effectively;
To innovate and improve; and
To work with other providers.
After the successful
implementation of citizens charter
in UK, many other countries across
the world adopted charter
programme as the nation of the
world were also facing the problems
in service delivery system,

To meet the challenges with respect to
public service delivery the government of
India is also following the principle of
democratic governance, good governance
and new public management. On the basis
of above mentioned concept the
government of India also adopted citizens
charter to reinvent public service delivery
system. In India, however citizens charter
were first implement in India in 1994 when
consumer rights activists drafted a charter
for health service provider at a meeting of
the Central Consumer Protection Council in
Delhi, but in 1996 Prime Minister of India
initiated the citizens charter programme at
national level. Indian citizens charter are
expected to incorporate the following
element, like
Vision and Mission Statement;
Details of business transacted by the
organization;
Details of clients:




International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848
CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md
Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1056
Details of services provided to each client
group;
Details of grievance redress mechanism and
how to access it; and
Expectation from the clients
Since when the CC programme was
launched in India, the different ministries,
department, directorates and other
organization at union level have formulated
131 CC as on January20 11.
The citizens charter initiative in India
initiated at the state level at a conference of
Chief Minister held in May 1997 where the
Action plan for effective and responsive
government at Centre and sate level was
adopted.
Accordingly since then as on January 2011,
about 729 such charters developed by
various department and agencies of the 24
state governments and union territories.
Looking at the basic thrust and principle of
citizens charter, it has been found that the
basic objective is to spread information to
general citizen regarding public service and
helps public institution, engaged in delivery
of public services, to work efficiently.
Citizens charter spells out that
empowerment of consumer/client is the
centre purpose and objective of the
institution, and yet one of its major
principal business is the reorganized of
management structure, financial
responsibility, and officials accountability
of the organization concerned in public
service provision and delivery.
Conclusion!
No doubt citizens charter is strong
initiative to improve public service delivery
and ensuring accountability of public
officials but it would be possible only when
the CC will be implemented in efficient and
effective manner. So to make CC efficient
and effective it should be given
constitutional status, there must be wide
publicity about charter programme among
people.
Reference!
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International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol-1, Issue-7, August 2014 ISSN 2348-6848
CITIZENS CHARTER MODEL AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RENOVATION OF PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Md
Munazir Alam
P a g e | 1057
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