Final draft -bill-14.02.2020 (1)

DRAFT BILL MADE BY THE RAM LUBHAYA COMMITTEE

THE RAJASTHAN TRANSPARENCY AND SOCIAL
ACCOUNTABILITY BILL, 2020

A

Bill

to lay down an obligation upon every public authority to publish the Citizens
Charter stating therein the time within which specified goods shall be supplied
and services be rendered, provide for a time bound grievance redress
mechanism for non-compliance of citizens charter and to review delivery of
public goods and services and to enable participatory social audit of welfare
schemes and measures to realize desired development outcomes and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Be it enacted by the Rajasthan State Legislature in the Seventieth Year of
the Republic of India, as follows:-

CHAPTER I
 
PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called
the Rajasthan Transparency and Social Accountability Act, 2020.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Rajasthan.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by
notification, appoint:

Provided that the State Government shall appoint such date within three
months from the date of its enactment:

Provided further that different dates may be appointed for different
provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the
commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into
force of that provision.

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "action taken report" means a report furnished to the complainant
by the Grievance Redress Officer or the Appellate Authority or
the State Transparency and Social Accountability Commission in
response to a complaint and appeal, as the case may be;
“accountability” means the answerability of the public servant for

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various acts of omission and commission in the delivery of public
service, redress of public grievances, social audit and other

functions and duties as per the Citizens Charter, Job Chart, law,
policy, programme and scheme;

(b) “accountability” means the answerability of the public servant for
various acts of omission and commission in the delivery of public
service, redress of public grievances, social audit and other functions
and duties as per the Citizens Charter, Job Chart, law, policy,
programme and scheme;

(c) “appellant” means a person who has filed an appeal under this Act;

(d) “application” means an application preferred for seeking delivery
of an entitlement, right or provision as arising from a Citizens
Charter, law, policy, programme or scheme;

(e) “Commission” means the Rajasthan Transparency and
Accountability Commission constituted under section 26;

(f) "Chief Commissioner" means the Chief Commissioner of the
Rajasthan Transparency and Accountability Commission as
appointed under section 27(a);

(g) "Citizens Charter" means the document relating to every public
authority published under section 4;

(h) "complaint" means a complaint filed by a citizen regarding any
grievance relating to, or arising out of, any failure in the delivery
of goods or rendering of service pursuant to the Citizens Charter,
Job Chart or in the functioning of a public authority, or any
violation of any law, policy, service, program or scheme in force
in the State by a public authority including delay in disposal of
matters before a Revenue Court where specific time limit for
disposal has been prescribed under law but does not include
grievance relating to the service matters of a public servant,
whether serving or retired, or relating to any matter pending in
any Court or Tribunalor relating to any matter under the Right to
Information Act,2005;

(i) "days" means the working days, referred to as the timeline;

(j) “Designated Authority” means such officer or authority outside the
concerned public authority as established or notified under
section 14(3), section 21(1) and section 26 of the Act;

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(k) “designated officer” means an officer designated to ensure delivery
of goods or rendering of service pursuant to the Citizens Charter
or fulfillment of obligations under any law, policy, programme,
order or scheme;

(l) “district Social Audit Convener” means Collector of the District;

(m)“electronic mode” means any method, process or application to
deliver any service electronically including, but not limited to
Government to Government, Government to citizen or
Government to business transactions, data interchange and other
digital supply transactions whether conducted by e-mail, mobile
devices, cloud computing, voice or data transmission or
otherwise;

(n) “electronic service delivery” means the delivery of public service
through electronic mode;

(o) “eligible person” means a person or group of persons who is
eligible for obtaining a public service or entitlement under the
Citizen Charter or Job Chart;

(p) “entitlement” means the rights of the citizens under this Act;

(q) “Government” means the Government of Rajasthan in the
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances;

(r) "Grievance Redress Officer" means a Grievance Redress Officer
appointed under section 10(1);

(s) "Head of the Department" means an officer designated as such by
the Government, as the head of a Government Department or
public authority;

(t) "Information and Facilitation Centre" means an Information and
Facilitation Centre, including customer care centre, call centre,
help desk, people's support centre established under section 6;

(u) "Job Chart" means the document relating to every public authority
published under section 5;

(v) "notification" means a notification published in the Official
Gazette;

(w)"prescribed" means prescribed by the rules made under this Act;

(x) "public authority" means any authority or body or institution of
self-government established or constituted,-

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(i)

by or under the Constitution;

(ii)

by any other law made by Parliament;

(iii)

by any other law made by State Legislature;

(iv)

by notification issued or order made by the State
Government, and includes any—

(A)

body owned, controlled or substantially financed;

(B)

non-Government organization substantially
financed, directly indirectly by funds provided by
the Government;

(C)

an organization or body corporate in its capacity as
an instrumentality of “State” as defined under
article 12 of the Constitution

and rendering services
of public utility in India;

(D)

a Government company as defined under section
617 of the Companies Act, 1956;

(E)

any other company which supply goods or render
services in pursuance of an obligation imposed
under any State Act or under any license or
authorization under any law for the time being in
force or by the Central or State Government;

(y) “Grievance Redress Public Hearing” or “Shikayat Nivaran Jan
Sunwai” means the public hearing to be held by the District and
Sub Divisional Transparency and Accountability Committee under
section 13(3);

(z) "service" means all the goods, services, entitlements including
functions, obligations, responsibility or duty, to be provided or
rendered by a public authority;

(aa) "stipulated time limit" means the maximum time limit permitted to
Designated Officer to render service or supply goods or Grievance
Redress Officer for providing an opportunity of hearing and redress
of a complaint, or to the first appellate authority or the second
appellate authority for deciding an appeal, or to the aforesaid
authorities for informing the complainant or appellant, as the case
may be, of the decision on such complaint or appeal, as the case
may be.

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CHAPTER II
 
RIGHTS UNDER THE ACT

3. Right of Citizen to obtain time bound delivery of services and
redress of complaints.- Subject to other provisions of this Act, every citizen
shall have the right to obtain time bound delivery of service, entitlement and
redress of grievance by way of complaint, opportunity of hearing and receive
action taken report in accordance with this Act within the time period as
stipulated in the Citizens Charter with due approval of the Government, or the
Job Chart, as the case maybe:

Provided that the stipulated time limit may be extended to such extent, as
may be notified by the Government during the period of elections, natural
calamities or such other eventualities.

CHAPTER III

PUBLICATION OF CITIZENS CHARTER & JOB CHART

4. Publication of Citizens Charter.- (1) Every public authority shall
publish, within three months of the commencement of this Act, a Citizens
Charter specifying therein all the category of goods supplied and services
rendered by it, the time within which such goods shall be supplied or services
be rendered, and the functions, obligations, duties of a public authority for
delivering such goods and services:

Provided that the stipulated time period for the same good or service
cannot exceed what is prescribed in any other law or delegated legislation.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions contained in sub-
section (1), the Citizens Charter shall include the following matters, namely:

(a)the details of all the goods supplied and services rendered by the
public authority and the name of person or agency through which
such goods are supplied or services rendered and timings during
which such services are supplied or services rendered;

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(b)the conditions under which a person becomes entitled for goods or
services, and the class of persons who are entitled to receive such
goods and avail services;

(c)the quantitative and tangible parameters (including weight, size,
frequency) of the goods and services available to the public;

(d)the name and addresses of individuals responsible for the delivery
of goods or rendering of services mentioned in (a) above;

(e)complaint redress mechanism including the time within which the
complaint be disposed of and the officer of the public authority to
whom such complaint may be made;

(f) any other functions, obligations, responsibility or duty of the public
authority is required or reasonably expected to provide;

(g)any other information relevant to delivery of goods or provision of
services or such other information as may be prescribed.

5. Publication of Job Chart.- (1) Every public authority and every
public servant shall have a “Job Chart” specifying his role, responsibility,
powers, duties, functions, service conditions, performance records and such
other information notified within three months of this Act as prescribed;

(2) The Secretary to the Government and Head of Department shall be
responsible for ensuring the preparation and publication of the job chart and
update from time to time in line with current roles and responsibilities and to
the extent possible, devise parameters to evaluate Quality, fix quantifiable,
measurable, monitor able and outcome based norms of performance based on
which the Annual Performance Appraisal shall be done.

(3) The job chart and outcome based norms of performance shall be
available in public domain of the departmental and appropriate government
portal.

(4) Further specifications for the job chart may be prescribed in rules.

CHAPTER IV
 
INFORMATION AND FACILITATION CENTRES

6. Establishment of Information and Facilitation Centres.- (1) The
Government shall establish Information and Facilitation Centre at every Gram

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Panchayat, Municipal Ward, Block Office and District collector’s office for
efficient and effective delivery of services and monitoring of grievance redress
which may include establishment of customer care centre, call centre, help desk
and such other support system for the benefit of citizens.

(2) The Centre shall function as a single window for receiving grievances
and applications related to all government schemes, programmes and
entitlements notified in the Citizen Charter and will be linked with the network
of other customer care centres, help desks and web-based processing and
tracking platforms of the State;

(3) The Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out the
functions of Information and Facilitation Centre.

(4) Any person, aggrieved by the action or inaction of employees at the
Information and Facilitation Centre and such other grievance in relation thereto,
can file a complaint with the District or Sub-Divisional Transparency and Social
Accountability Committee.

CHAPTER V
 
DELIVERY OF PUBLIC SERVICE

7. Disposal of Applications.- (1) Every public authority shall, within
three months from the date of the coming into force of this Act, designate as
many officers as may be necessary as Designated Officers in all administrative
units or offices at the State, district and sub-district levels, municipalities,
Panchayats whereat supplies of goods or services are rendered.

(2) The Designated Officer on receipt of the application under sub-section
(1) shall, within the stipulated time either directly or through an officer duly
authorized by him provide such service or reject the application and in case of
rejection of the application, shall record the reasons in writing and intimate the
same to the applicant.

(3) The stipulated time limit shall start from the date when the required
application, complete in all respects, for a public service is submitted to the
Designated Officer or to a person authorized to receive the application in such
manner as may be prescribed. The receipt of each application shall be duly
acknowledged by the Designated Officer or the person authorized to receive the
application:

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Provided that within one hundred eighty days of the notification of the
Act, all departments shall ensure that applications for delivery of goods and
services can be filed electronically if so desired. Provided further that it shall be
the responsibility of the concerned department that all applications submitted
offline must be immediately uploaded.

(4) The Designated Officer shall, immediately after expiry of thirty days
from the date of the application, forward every application in which service has
not been delivered within the specified period along with reasons for delay to
the Grievance Redress Officer who shall register it as a complaint and decide it
as such.

8. Delivery of Services Electronically.- (1) The public authority shall,
subject to the legal, technical and financial feasibility, deliver all services and
redress complaints by electronic mode within a period of three years from the
date of commencement of this Act, except such services:

(a) which cannot be delivered electronically; and

(b)which can be delivered electronically but the public authority,
notifies not to deliver such services electronically for the reasons
to be specified in such notification:

Provided that the public authority shall consult the
Government before notifying any services under clause (b):

Provided further that such period of three years may be
extended by the Government for a further period not exceeding
two years on the recommendations of the public authority.

(2) Every public authority shall publish within ninety days from the
commencement of this Act, the list of public services, to be delivered by it in
electronic mode;

(3) The public authority shall, after the publication of the list under sub-
section (2), review the same and notify on the 1st day of January of every year:

(a)the public service which shall be made available through electronic
mode and otherwise;

(b)the manner of such services as may be prescribed; and

(c)such other information as may be prescribed.

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(3) The public authority while reviewing the list under sub-section (3), by
notification, omit or add any public service in such list:

Provided that any omission in the list shall be subject to the approval of
the Government.

(4) The Government may, from time to time, specify electronic
governance standards, in such manner as may be prescribed, being not
inconsistent with electronic governance standards notified by Central
Government, as may be necessary for ensuring inter-operability, integration,
harmonization, availability through multiple channels and security of electronic
service and data.

(5) In the delivery of any service which requires multiple eligibility
criteria, the public authority shall use information available on various
databases to automatically ascertain such eligibility so as to reduce duplication
of time and effort by the applicant.

(6) Where an applicant receives a certification which entitles him to other
benefits, the public authority shall suo moto generate the requisite sanction
enabling automatic delivery of such other benefits.

(7) Regarding any private or public intermediaries being permitted for
providing interface/support for improving efficiency in delivery of goods and
services, the conduct of such private or public intermediaries shall be regulated
as prescribed:

Provided that no citizen shall be denied their right to access a service or
make a complaint just because he could not do it electronically.

9. Responsibilities of the Head of the Department.- The Head of the
Department in each public authority shall be responsible,-

(1) For holding public consultation and updating and verifying the
Citizens Charter from time to time, and at least once every year, and furnish
certified copy to the Commission,

(2) Taking steps to ensure that the Citizens Charter and provisions of the
Act are widely disseminated to the public;

(3) Complying with obligations under section 4 of the Right to
Information Act;

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(4) Publishing and updating relevant information on “Jan Soochna Portal”
and concerned website of the Department. This will include but not be restricted
to,-

(i)All information given to an applicant under the Right to
Information Act;

(ii)Citizen Charters;

(iii)Head-wise Budget allotted and expenditure for each office under
the public authority, administrative, financial and technical
sanctions of works issued, sanctioned estimates, survey reports
of sites, project reports, drawings, certificates of availability of
land free from all encumbrances, utility shifting plan of action,
forest and environment and other statutory clearances, work
order, agreement, physical and financial progress of the work,
hurdles in the timely completion of work and steps taken, copies
of decisions taken on time extension, additions and alterations of
items in the original estimates, copies of the quality check
reports and inspection reports, copies of the MB’s, Running Bills
paid, credit limits issued and utilized, final bill paid, completion
records, bills pending for payment and reasons thereof,
Arbitration proceedings pending and Arbitration awards;

(iv)All social audit reports along with action taken report;

(v)Proceedings of all the Statutory Committees constituted under
various laws; and

(vi)Proceedings of the review meetings taken by the Secretary and
Head of the Department for effective implementation of the
provisions of this Act.

(5) to ensure that all material be disseminated taking into consideration
the local language and the most effective method of communication in that local
area free of cost.

Explanation.— For the purposes of this section the expression
"disseminated" means making known and communicating the information to the
public through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media
broadcasts, the internet or any other means.

(6) to ensure that proper record of receipt and disposal of applications for
service delivery and complaints is maintained preferably in electronic mode and
a monitoring system is put in place in his office and each of the subordinate

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office to effectively monitor and review the delivery of services and redress of
grievances under the provisions of this Act within the stipulated period, identify
lagging offices and take appropriate remedial measures;

(i)The Secretary in charge of the Department shall review the
progress with the Head of the Department every month to
identify the services not being delivered in time, subjects with the
highest number of complaints and take necessary steps to remove
the bottlenecks and minimize grievances;

(7) The State Government shall, within ninety days from the date of
commencement of this Act, develop Portals to enable receipt and monitoring of
public services delivery within the stipulated time, registration,
acknowledgement and categorization of complaints and Appeals and tracking
thereof by both the applicant and public authority, and generate such
information as prescribed;

(8) Shall facilitate social audit of specified schemes, works, programmes
and entitlements as prescribed, make the records available for social audit and
take timely action on the findings of the audit;

(9) Within 6 months of passing of this Act, improve office management
by reengineering of processes and procedures, simplifying application formats,
reducing levels for putting up files decision making to not more than three,
fixing time limit for disposal at each level, introduction of single window
system for delivery of services, demystification of procedures through wide
publication of information, delegation of powers, decentralization, electronic
delivery of services by obtaining appropriate approvals of the government,
wherever required, so that the services are rendered within specified period;

(10) The State Government shall also introduce similar measures in the
Secretariat within 6 months of notification of the Act:

Provided that all matters referred to the Head of the Department for
guidance, clarification and amendment in the rules, orders and procedure
relating to delivery of services and existing entitlements shall be decided, to the
extent possible within 60 days of receipt;

(11) Within 12 months from the notification of this Act, the State
Government will set up a mechanism to carry out the Administrative audit to
see that provisions under the Act are observed.

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(12) Subject to the availability of funds, introduce appropriate electronic
attendance verification systems to ensure presence of the Public servants at their
place of duty and discharge their functions and duties efficiently as per their job
charts and reduce the need of the citizens to file petitions and complaints.

(13) Devise and introduce an online monitoring and reporting system by
which performance of public servants and the institutions or offices could be
monitored on quantifiable and measurable norms of output and quality of
services wherever possible so as to identify non performing public servants and
units, take remedial measures and utilize these results in performance evaluation
of public servants.

(14) The Government and public authority shall take steps to reduce the
demand from an eligible person to submit various certificates, documents,
affidavits etc. for obtaining public service and shall endeavor to obtain such
information and documents directly from the databases maintained by the
departments or the public authority concerned.

CHAPTER VI
 
REDRESS OF COMPLAINTS

10. Designation of Grievance Redress Officers.- (1) Every public
authority shall, within three months from the date of commencement of this Act,
designate as many officers as may be necessary as Grievance Redress Officers
in all administrative units or offices at the State, district and sub-district levels,
municipalities, Panchayats whereat supplies of goods or render services to
receive, enquire into and redress any complaints from citizens in the manner as
may be prescribed:

Provided that the Grievance Redress Officer so appointed shall be at least
one level above and be deemed to have administrative control on the Designated
Officer as defined in Citizens Charter/Job Chart.

(2) Every public authority shall, immediately on appointment of a
Grievance Redress Officer and Designated officer under section 7(1), shall
display, at its each office, Information and Facilitation Centre, customer care
centre, help desk, People's Support Centre and at the sales outlets, website and
at the office of the Grievance Redress Officer, Designated Officer and the
Appellate Authority, the name of the Grievance Redress Officer, their addresses
and telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, facsimile numbers and other means of

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contacting them, in respect of each area for which they have been appointed or
designated:

Provided that in case of change of the name of the Grievance Redress
Officer, his address and telephone number, e-mail address, facsimile number
and other means of contacting him shall be notified without any delay.

(3) The Grievance Redress Officer shall provide all necessary assistance
to citizens in filing complaints.

(4) Where a complainant is unable to make a complaint in writing, the
Grievance Redress Officer shall render all reasonable assistance to the person
making the request orally to reduce the same in writing.

(5) The Grievances Redress Officer shall be responsible to take all such
steps as necessary to prevent repetitive grievances of similar nature.

11. Registration of Complaint.- (1) Any person can submit a complaint
in relation to any grievance under this Act-

(i) before the Grievance Redress Officer of the concerned
public authority;

(ii) at the Information and Facilitation Centre;

(iii) using the Rajasthan Sampark Web Portal, the designated
telephone helpline;

(iv) or any other means prescribed by the State Government.

(2) All complaints shall be made in writing, or, if made orally through
any means, including electronic, telephonic, must be reduced to writing by the
receiving authority such that it reflects necessary information as received from
the complainant:

Provided that the Grievance Redress Officer or any person authorized to
receive the complaint, as the case maybe, shall render all possible assistance to
persons who are unable to submit the complaint in writing.

(3) The functionary accepting the complaint submitted under sub-section
(1) and (2) shall generate a unique grievance number and immediately issue a
receipt to the complainant specifying the date, time, place, date of next block
level public hearing, unique grievance number and particulars of receiver of
complaint, of concerned Grievance Redress Officer, along with the stipulated
time frame in accordance with its Citizens Charter within which the complaint
will be redressed.

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(4) Upon receiving such a complaint, the information and facilitation
center shall forward the same to the concerned Grievance redress officer as soon
as possible, and in no case later than 24 hours from the receipt.

12. Process of Enquiry.- The Grievance Redress Officer, for the
purposes of enquiring into any grievance, shall,-

(i) call all records necessary and relevant to verify the facts contained in
the complaint;

(ii) inspect the site of grievance if required, with prior intimation to the
complainant;

(iii) hear the complainant in person at the fortnightly public hearing in
the manner specified in section 13;

(iv) conduct an enquiry to ascertain whether the complainant has
received delivery of entitlement as per the stipulations contained in
the relevant Citizen Charter/Job Chart or any other law in force. If
there has been a failure in the delivery of such entitlement, the
Grievance Redress Officer shall remedy the same at the earliest. Any
process under this chapter must in no way delay or impede the
delivery of the entitlement to the aggrieved person/group of persons.
Findings shall be recorded in the action taken report.

(v) In the course of enquiry and proceedings relating to a complaint, if it
appears that the violation or denial of entitlement is due to deliberate
or mala fide or negligent act or inaction of any public official, the
Grievance Redress Officer shall recommend the District Appellate
Authority to impose penalties on the concerned public official.

(vi) In the event that the non-delivery of the entitlement within the terms
of the Citizens Charter has caused hardship to the complainant, the
Grievance Redress Officer shall recommend to the District Appellate
Authority to grant compensation to the complainant.

(vii) If during the course of enquiry, the Grievance Redress Officer finds
sufficient reasons to initiate departmental proceedings, he shall
recommend the same to the District Appellate Authority.

(viii)If during the course of enquiry, the Grievance Redress Officer finds
sufficient reasons to initiate a criminal case, he shall be
recommending the same to the District Appellate Authority.

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(ix) where the Grievance Redress Officer finds that the individual
responsible for the delivery of the goods and services has willfully
neglected to deliver the goods or services, or has delayed such
delivery beyond the prescribed time without any good reason, or has
delivered goods or services that do not meet the prescribed standards
of quality or measure, or there exist prima facie grounds for a case
under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the Grievance Redress
Officer shall make an observation to that effect in the Action Taken
Report.

(x) An automated intimation shall be issued to the Head of the
Department on the 21st day of the filing of the grievance if an Action
Taken Report has not been passed by the Grievance Redress Officer
till that date. The Head of the Department may inquire into the
continuing pendency of the grievance at this point and issue
appropriate directions to ensure the timelines and processes of this
act are being adhered to:

Provided that grievance of an urgent or immediate nature shall
be disposed of at the earliest possible depending on the nature of the
grievance but not later than two days from the date of receipt of the
complaint.

(xi) The Grievance Redress Officer shall, immediately after the expiry of
the period of thirty days, report every complaint which has not been
redressed along with the details of the complainant, nature of
complaint, and reasons for non-redress of complaints to the
designated authority.

13. Right to Open Public Hearing.- Subject to sub-clause *, every
person or group of persons filing a complaint under the Act shall be entitled to a
collective and open Public Hearing within fifteen days of filing the complaint,
before a District or Sub-Divisional Transparency and Accountability Committee
as the case may be.

14. Procedure for Holding Public Hearing of Complaints.- (1) Every
person/group of persons who files a grievance under the provisions of this Act,
shall be entitled to a collective public hearing (Jan Sunwai) within 15 days of
the grievance being filed as per provisions of the Act.

(2) For all grievances pertaining to sub-divisional level officials, the
public hearing will be organized at the Block level. For all grievances pertaining

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to district level officials, the public hearing will be organized at the District
level.

(3) The State Government shall set up Transparency and Accountability
Committees at each District and Sub-division to conduct and coordinate the
public hearing.

(4) Under the guidance of the Committee, an attempt will be made to
redress the complaints during the course of the public hearing itself.

(5) The Grievance Redress Officer shall be present at the public hearing.

(6) The public hearing will be a forum for all Grievance Redress Officers
to share the status of each grievance received, while providing the complainant
and participants an opportunity to share any additional information and explain
their complaint.

(7) At the public hearing, the Grievance Redress Officer shall,-

(a)provide a preliminary response to the grievance;

(b)allow the complainant, if he or she so desires, to publicly explain
the nature of the grievance as well as present any relevant
information;

(c)accept guidance of the “Chair/panel of the Public Hearing” in the
course of discussing the status of the grievance concerned;

(d)record the proceedings relating to the complaint, including
information received from the complainant and guidance
provided under sub-clause (c);

(e)The response of the complainant shall be duly recorded in the
proceedings of the hearing. In case the Grievance Redress
Officer is unable to follow recommendations he/she must record
reasons in writing.

(f)In case the complaint is disposed off at the public hearing, the
complainant shall be given a copy of the Action Taken Report.

(g)All proceedings, grievances and action taken reports must be
entered on to the web portal at the end of the public hearing and
no later than 48 hours.

(8) The public hearing will be coordinated by a panel of 5 members
chaired by the SDM/District Collector or their nominee if they are unable to be
present due to duties of inevitable nature;

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(9) Under the guidance of the panel, an attempt will be made to redress
the grievance on the day itself. The Panel will be free to note its observation as
regards the complaints discussed. Redress of grievance or its ongoing status will
be recorded as part of the minutes and the District Grievance Redress Authority
will be provided access to the proceedings whilst disposing appeals.

(10) An Information and Facilitation centre will also be run at the location
of every Public Hearing.

(11) Transparency and Accountability Committees shall also,-

(a)review the implementation of the provisions of this Act to identify
lagging departments and offices and issue suitable instructions to
improve. If the concerned fails to comply with the instructions or
remains absent during Public Hearing for unjustifiable reasons,
the District Committee shall recommend suitable action against
the officer to the Head of the Department. The Sub-divisional
committee shall forward recommendations to the District
Committee which may recommend action to the Head of the
Department or the Government as the case may be;

(b)If any complaint, containing specific and verifiable details of
irregularity, misappropriation, corruption or criminal misconduct
isreceived by the committee, it shall either enquire itself or
appoint an enquiry officer to inquire into it and if the allegations
are substantiated with evidence, recommend action to the Public
Authority; and

(c)The Government or the Head of the Department shall consider the
recommendations of the committee and convey the decision to
the committee not later than 45 days of its receipt.

(12) All social audit paras generated during the Social Audit shall be
uploaded on the website and a copy shall be sent to the committee. Each para
shall be registered and taken up for disposal at the next public hearing.
Unresolved paras shall be forwarded to the Appellate Authority as an appeal.

15. Action Taken Report.- (1) Subject to provisions of this Act, the
Grievance Redress Officer shall furnish a report, to be called as the Action
Taken Report, to the complainant in respect of a complaint filed under section
10, within 30 days from the date of its registration.

(2) The Action Taken Report shall contain-

(a)the nature of grievance and particulars thereof;

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(b)the relevant obligation on the public authority, under this Act or
any other law, rule, regulation, guideline or policies covered by
this Act;

(c)the details of the enquiry conducted under section 11;

(d)the findings on the grievance, including the manner of redressal, as
specified;

(e)the direction to any public official for redress;

(f)recommendations to the District Authority, if any, in relation to the
conduct of any officer responsible for the grievance.

16. Officers to act in aid and assistance for conduct of enquiry.-
(1) The Grievance Redress Officer may seek the assistance of any other officer
required for the proper discharge of his duties or may direct any other officer to
take action to redress a grievance.

(2) Any officer, whose assistance has been sought under sub-section (2),
shall render all assistance to the Grievance Redress Officer seeking his
assistance and for the purposes of any contravention of the provisions of this
Act, such other officer shall be deemed to be a Grievance Redress Officer for
the purposes of this Act.

(3) If a Grievance Redress Officer receives a grievance that relates to
matters that are partly or wholly dealt with by another Grievance Redress
Officer or Public Authority, then the receiving Grievance Redress Officer will
transfer the complaint to the appropriate Grievance Redress Officer and Public
Authority within two days and send intimation to the complainant and the
Information and Facilitation Centre. Where two or more Grievance Redress
Officers or Public Authorities are involved in any grievance, copies of the
grievance will be transferred to all the relevant Grievance Redress Officers and
Public Authorities.

(4) While transferring the grievance, the Grievance Redress Officer shall
record in writing why the matter does not partly or wholly relate to his/ her
jurisdiction. The Grievance Redress Officer who receives the grievance
transferred in part or in whole will be deemed to be a Grievance Redress Officer
as per the provisions of this Act. The deemed Grievance Redress Officer shall
dispose of the transferred grievance within the time frame stipulated in the
Citizens Charter.

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(5) Such multiple Grievance Redress Officer concerned shall immediately
be reported to Head of Department and District Grievance Redress Officer.

17. Publication of fortnightly reports.- (1) Every public authority shall
ensure that every Grievance Redress Officer keeps a record of applications and
complaints made to it or appeal therein and the decisions on such complaints
and appeals preferably in electronic form, as may be prescribed.

(2) Every public authority shall publish on its website, by the 15th day of
every month or at such shorter intervals, as may be prescribed, a report
mentioning therein,-

(a) the number of applications and complaints received;

(b) the number of applications and complaints pending with timeline,

(c) the number of applications and complaints disposed of;

(i) within stipulated time;

(ii) beyond stipulated time; and

(d) such other particulars, as may be prescribed, for discharge of its
functions under this Act.

CHAPTERVII
 
SOCIALAUDIT

18. Establishment of Society for Social Audit and Transparency
(Rajasthan).- The State Government shall establish Society for Social Audit
and Transparency (Rajasthan), as a society registered under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860, to facilitate conduct of social audits.

19. Conduct of Social and Performance Audits.- (1) The State
Government shall facilitate conduct of social audit and performance audit of
such services, programs, schemes, projects, works and legal entitlements
implemented by different Government departments, agencies or organizations
specified under the First Schedule:

Provided that the State Government may, by notification, revise or amend
the list of such programs, schemes and projects from time to time as may be
required.

(2) The Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)shall at the
beginning of the year, frame an annual calendar to conduct at least one social

19

audit in each Gram Panchayat every year, and a copy of the calendar shall be
sent to all the Heads of Department and District Collector who shall be the
District Social Audit Convener as prescribed, for making necessary
arrangements. The Annual Calendar shall be published on the web portal.

(3) The Social Audit reports of the social audits carried out as per the
calendar shall be uploaded on the website within one week.

(4) The Social Audit shall be conducted as per the procedure laid down in
the Second Schedule.

(5) The social audit report including the Action Taken Report shall be
generated as per the format as prescribed.

20. Standards of Social Audits.- Social Audits shall be conducted as per
the Auditing Standards of Social Audit specified by the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India.

CHAPTER VIII
 
APPEALS

21. Establishment of District Appellate Authority.- (1) The State
Government shall establish for every district, by notification, an authority to be
known as the District Appellate Authority, with effect from such date as it may
specify in such notification, to exercise its jurisdiction, powers and authority
conferred under this Act.

(2) The District Appellate Authority may be a retired or serving
administrative officer and as prescribed.

22. Procedure for Appeal.- (1) Every complaint forwarded along with
the details under section 13 shall be deemed to have been filed by way of an
appeal to the Appellate Authority to be appointed by the Government as
prescribed;

(2) Any individual aggrieved by a decision of the Grievance Redress
Officer or who has not received an action taken report in respect of a complaint
filed by him, may, within thirty days from the expiry of such period or from the
receipt of such decision, prefer an appeal to the Appellate authority:

Provided that the Appellate authority may admit the appeal after the
expiry of thirty days if it is satisfied that the complainant was prevented by
sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.

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(3) The receipt of the appeal under sub-section (2) shall be acknowledged
by the office of the Appellate authority.

(4) The Appellate Authority shall have original jurisdiction to adjudicate
upon every application made to it under the provisions of this Act.

(5) The Appellate Authority shall not be bound by the procedure laid
down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 but shall be guided by the principles
of natural justice and subject to the other provisions of this Act and of any rules
made thereunder, the Authority shall have the power to regulate its procedure.

(6) Every appeal filed under this section or complaint deemed to by way
of an appeal shall be disposed of by the Appellate Authority within thirty days
from the date of receipt of such appeal. The Appellate Authority shall send
information to the Commission on all appeals that remain pending after expiry
of the stipulated period and reasons thereof:

(i) Provided that an appeal of an urgent or immediate nature shall be
disposed of within the same day of the receipt of the appeal or before the date
on which the cause of action may cease to exist, which shall not be later than
thirty days from the date of receipt of the appeal.

(ii)Provided further that if during the proceedings the Appellate Authority
comes to the conclusion that delay had occurred at a level higher than the
District level officer, he would send the appeal to the Commission for hearing
and appeal under intimation to the applicant.

(7) The Appellate Authority shall arrange to deliver copies of the
decisions to the parties concerned within a period of five working days from the
date of such decisions.

(8) The Appellate Authority may impose penalty, including compensation
to the complainant, in deciding an appeal against concerned officer for acting in
a mala fide manner or having failed to discharge their duties without any
sufficient and reasonable cause:

Provided that the concerned officers of the public authority shall be given
a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed on them.

(9) Where it appears to the Appellate Authority that the grievance
complained of is, prima facie, indicative or representative of a corrupt act or
practice in terms of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on part of the
individual officer of the public authority complained against, then, it shall

21

record in writing such evidence as may be found in support of such conclusion
and shall initiate the proceedings or in writing refer the same to the appropriate
authorities competent to take cognizance of such corrupt practice.

(10) The Appellate Authority shall upon adjudication of a complaint have
the powers to issue directions requiring the concerned officers of the public
authority to take such steps as may be necessary to secure compliance with the
provisions of Citizens Charter/Job Chart.

23. Powers of a Civil Court.- The Designated Authorities namely the
Commission, District and Sub Division Transparency and Social Accountability
Committees constituted under section 13(3) District Appellate Authority
established and notified under section 17 shall, for the purposes of its functions
under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 in respect of the following matters, namely—

(a)summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and
examining him on oath;

(b)discovery and production of any document or other material object
producible as evidence;

(c)receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d)requisitioning of any public record;

(e)issuing commission for the examination of witnesses;

(f)reviewing its decisions, directions and orders; and

(g)any other matter which may be prescribed.

24. Powers to take suo moto notice.- The Appellate Authority shall have
the power to take suo moto notice of failure to deliver service in accordance
with the provisions of this Act in public interest, and to pass such order as the
facts and circumstances of the case may warrant.

CHAPTER IX
 
THE RAJASTHAN TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMISSION

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25. Appeals to the Commission.- (1) Any person who, does not receive a
decision within the time specified in section 22(6) or is aggrieved by a decision
of the Appellate Authority may within thirty days from the expiry of such period
from the receipt of such a decision prefer an appeal to the Rajasthan
Transparency and Accountability commission:

Provided that the Commission may admit the appeal after the expiry of
thirty days if it is satisfied that the complainant was prevented by sufficient
cause from filing the appeal in time.

(2) The decision of the Commission under this section shall be binding.

26. Establishment of the Commission.- The State Government shall
constitute, by notification, a Commission to be known as the Rajasthan
Transparency and Social Accountability Commission to exercise the
jurisdiction, power and authority conferred under this Act.

27. Composition of the Commission.- The Commission shall consist
of,-

(a)

a Chief Commissioner; and

(b)

such number of Commissioners as may be prescribed from time
to time, out of which at least one each shall be from amongst
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women.

28. Terms and conditions and qualifications of appointment.- (1) The
Chief Commissioner and Commissioners shall be appointed by the Government
on the terms and conditions as prescribed.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Chief
Commissioner or a Commissioner of the Rajasthan Transparency and
Accountability Commission unless he is,-

(a)

Any retired or serving officer of the rank of Additional Chief
Secretary to the Government of Rajasthan or Additional
Secretary to the Government of India or above;

(b) he is or has been a District Judge for at least ten years; or

(c)

is an eminent person with a post-graduate degree recognized for
the work towards public service in the area and who has worked
for at least ten years in the social sector relevant to the
prevention or redress of grievances.

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29. Tenure.- (1) The Chief Commissioner and commissioner shall hold
office for a term of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office
or and shall not be entitled for re-appointment.

(2) The Chief Commissioner or Commissioner may, by notice in writing
under his hand addressed to the Government, resign from his office.

30. Removal of members.- (1) The Chief Commissioner or
Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except by an order by the
Government on the ground of proven misbehavior or incapability after an
inquiry as prescribed by the Government in which the Chief Commissioner or
Commissioner as the case may be, had been informed of the charges against
him and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of such
charges.

(2) The Government may, by rules, regulate the procedure for the inquiry
of misbehavior or incapability of the Chief Commissioner or the Commissioner
referred to in sub-section (1).

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the
Government may, by order, remove the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner
from his office, if he,-

(a)

is, or at any time has been, adjudged an insolvent; or

(b)

has engaged at any time, during his term of office, in any paid
employment; or

(c)

has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the
Government, involves moral turpitude; (d) has acquired such
financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his
functions as Chief Commissioner; or

(e)

has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office
prejudicial to the public interest; or

(f)

has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as Chief
Commissioner or Commissioner.

(4) The State Government may, by rules, regulate the procedure for the
investigation of misbehavior or incapacity of the aforesaid Chief Commissioner
or Commissioners.

31. Functions of the Commission.- (1) The Commission shall monitor
the implementation of this Act on a regular basis.

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(2) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in sub-section (1), the
functions of the Commission shall, amongst other things, include the following,
namely,-

(a)

monitoring the publication of the Citizens Charter/Job Chart,
services to be delivered and adherence to the time schedule,
manner of delivery and quality of such services notified by the
Government and recommend necessary changes to the head if
the dept;

(b)

ensure that each Public Authority disclose information under
section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 in the template
prescribed by the commission on the website of the Department
and the Government;

(c)

recommend changes in the processes and procedure for delivery
of public service and mechanism of grievance redress which
shall make the delivery more transparent, efficient and friendly:

Provided that, before making such a recommendation, the
Commission shall consult the Administrative Secretary of the
Department which is to deliver the public service;

(d)

advise the Government on matters concerning implementation of
the Act;

(e)

hear and decide the Appeal and revision under the provisions of
this Act;

(f)

commission research studies and surveys to suggest effective
strategies of implementation of the Act;

(g)

review the progress of electronic delivery of services from
time to time to fulfill the objective of section of the Act.

(h)

the Commission shall devise the mechanism for evaluation
and benchmarking the performance of the public authority in
delivery of public service in the manner prescribed.

(I)

exercise powers of superintendence and control over the
Appellate Authority appointed under section [21] and the
State Social Audit Unit.

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32. Officers and Staff of the Commission.- (1) The State Government
shall provide the Commission with such officers and employees as may be
required for the discharge of its functions under this Act.

(2) The officers and employees so appointed under sub-section (1) shall
discharge their functions under the general superintendence of the Chief
Commissioner.

33. Procedure before the Commission.- The Commission shall not be
bound by the procedure laid down in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 but
shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and subject to the other
provisions of this Act and of any rules made thereunder, the Commission shall
have the power to regulate its own procedure.

34. Original jurisdiction of the Commission.- (1) The Commission
shall have original jurisdiction to decide every appeal made to it under section
12.

(2) The Commission on its own motion or on an application revise any
order passed by the Appellate Authority.

(3) The Commission shall arrange to deliver copies of the decision to the
parties concerned within a period of fifteen days from the date of such decision.

35. Burden of proof.- In any appeal proceedings, the burden of proof to
establish that a non-redress of complaint by the Grievance Redress Officer shall
be on the Grievance Redress Officer who denied the request.

36. Staff deemed to be public servants.- The staff and officers of the
Commission shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of
section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

37. Disposal of Appeal and Penalties.- (1) An appeal under section 12
shall be disposed of within sixty days from the date of filing of the appeal:

Provided that an appeal of an urgent or immediate in nature shall be
disposed of within the same day of the receipt of the appeal or before the date
on which the cause of action may cease to exist, which shall not be later than
fifteen days from the date of receipt of the appeal.

(2) The Commission may impose penalty, including compensation to the
complainant, while deciding an appeal against the Designated Officer/Appellate
Authority for acting in a mala fide manner or having failed to discharge his
duties without any sufficient and reasonable cause:

26

Provided that the concerned officers of the public authority shall be given
a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed on them
under this section.

38. Powers of the Commission.- (1) The Commission shall, upon
adjudication of a complaint, have the power to issue directions,-

(a)

requiring the public authority to take such steps as may be
necessary to secure compliance with the provisions of the Act;

(b)

requiring the timely creation, updating and wide dissemination
of the Citizens Charter of the public authority.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Commission to receive and inquire into a
complaint from any person,

(a)

who has been unable to submit an appeal to the Appellate
Authority;

(b)

who has been refused redress of grievance under this Act;

(c)

whose complaint has not been disposed of within the time
limit specified;

(d)

who has been denied access to the Citizens Charter of the
public authority either because the Charter was not created
by the public authority or is inadequate in any regard or it is
not widely disseminated to make people aware of it;

(e)

in respect of any other matter relating to registering and
redressing of a complaint or appeal under this Act.

(3) The Commission may, suo-moto, take notice of failure to deliver
goods and services in accordance with the provisions of this Act and refer such
cases for disposal to the Head of the Department of the Public Authority and in
such cases, an action taken report shall be sent by the Head of the Department
of the Public Authority to the State Commission within thirty days from the date
of such reference.

(4) Where the Commission, is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds
to inquire into the matter, it may initiate an inquiry suomotu in respect thereof.

39. Reference to Criminal Investigation.- Where it appears to the
Commission that the grievance complained of is, prima facie, indicative of a
corrupt act or practice in terms of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on

27

the part of the responsible officer of the public authority complained against,
then, it shall record such evidence as may be found in support of such
conclusion and shall refer the same to the appropriate authorities.

CHAPTER X
 
PENALATIES, COMPENSATION AND INCENTIVES

40. Penalties for failure to deliver goods or render services.- (1) The
Appellate Authority or the Commission as the case may be, may impose a lump
sum penalty against the Designated Officer responsible for delivery of goods
and services or Grievance Redress Officer for failure to deliver an Action Taken
Report within stipulated time period, or deliver goods or render services to
which the applicant is entitled or redress of complaint or provide opportunity of
hearing within the stipulated time or a Public servant for failure to perform
duties and obligations under the Act without reasonable and sufficient cause,
which shall not be less than two thousand rupees and not more than twenty
thousand rupees which shall be recovered from the salary of the official against
whom penalty has been imposed.

Before fixing the penalty on a Designated Officer, the Appellate
Authority or the Commission must take into consideration the report of the
Grievance Redress Officer, comments of the Transparency and Accountability
Committee in the public hearing, the Job Chart of the concerned officials, in
apportioning the failure in delivery of service and fixing proportionate
responsibility for the penalty.

(2) The Appellate Authority or the Commission may,award compensation
to the appellant as it may deem fit:

Provided that the amount of such compensation awarded shall not exceed
the amount of penalty imposed under the sub section 1.

(3) The Public Authority shall appoint a competent officer to recover
Penalty and disburse compensation to the applicant within stipulated time as
prescribed.

(4) If any public servant is found guilty under sub-section (1), the
disciplinary authority shall initiate the disciplinary proceedings against such
officer of the public authority, who if proved to be guilty of a mala fide action in
respect of any provision of this Act, shall be liable to such punishment including
a penalty as the disciplinary authority may decide.

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41. Developing culture to deliver services and redress grievances
within fixed period.- (1) The defaults on the part of government servant in the
time bound delivery of citizen related services as defined in this Act shall not be
counted towards misconduct as the purpose and object is to sensitize the public
servant towards the citizen and to enhance and imbibe a culture to deliver time
bound services to the citizens.

(2) In case of habitual defaulter, the competent officer shall be competent
to take appropriate administrative action after recording a finding to this effect
but not before giving a show cause notice and opportunity of hearing to the
defaulting servant.

Explanation- For the purpose of this sub-section, a government servant
shall be deemed to be habitual defaulter as prescribed;

42. Incentive and rewards for exemplary service to citizens.- (1) There
shall be constituted a fund called the ‘Service Performance Incentive Fund’ and
there shall be credited thereto a yearly amount deemed appropriate by the
government for the purpose of rewarding officers who have provided exemplary
service to citizens.

(2) The government shall make rules regarding the disbursement of
incentives and rewards to be paid from the fund in such a manner as deemed
appropriate by the government to officers who have an exemplary record of
providing services to citizens as per the criteria stipulated in the rules.

(3) For grant of merit awards to public servants, among other
achievements; performance under this Act shall form a condition precedent.

(4) The government shall periodically publish on its web-site or through
other means, the department wise information of officers who have
demonstrated an exemplary track record of provision of citizen related services.

(5) The government shall also make available in the public domain the
department wise details of total compensation paid and the recoveries that have
been made under this Act.

43. Deemed service condition.- The provisions of this Act shall be
deemed to be part of service conditions of the government servants including
such servants of Public Authority.

CHAPTER XI
 
MISCELLANEOUS

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44. Bar on civil courts.- No civil court shall have jurisdiction to settle,
decide or deal with any question or to determine any matter which is by or
under this Act required to be settled, decided or dealt with or to be determined
by the Grievance Redress Officer or the Designated Officer or the Commission.

45. Protection of action taken in good faith.- No suit, prosecution or
other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good
faith done or intended to be done under this Act or any rule made thereunder.

46. Overriding effect of this Act.- The provisions of this Act shall be in
addition to and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.

47. Power to make rules.- (1) The State Government may, by
notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

(2) Every rule made by the State Government shall be laid, as soon as
may be after it is made, before the State Legislature.

48. Power to remove difficulties.- (1) If any difficulty arises in giving
effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, by order, published in
the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act as may appear to be necessary for removing the difficulty:

Provided that no order shall be made under this section after the expiry of
two years from the commencement of this Act.

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be
after it is made, before the State Assembly.

49. Power to Exempt.- (1) If a Public Authority due to factors beyond its
control, is constrained to deliver a service or entitlement in the Citizens Charter,
it shall refer the matter to the Government to remove the constraints and till
such time constraints are removed, the service or entitlement be taken out from
the purview of the provisions of this act;

(2) The State Government on receipt of a proposal as in Sub section (I) or
on its own motion, in consultation with the commission, pass such orders as
deemed fit through a notification in the Gazette.

50. Repeal.- The Rajasthan Guaranteed Delivery of Public Services
Act,2011 (Act No. 23 of 2011) and the Rajasthan Right to Hearing Act,2012
(Act No. 22 of 2012) shall stand repealed with effect from the coming into force
of this Act.

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FIRST SCHEDULE

[Under section 19(1)]

As per powers conferred in Section 19(1) of the Act, the following programmes and
Public Services under different sectors shall be subjected to Social Audit as per the
rules and guidelines issued by the State Government:

A.

Education.

(a) Bicycle distribution

(b) Mid Day Meal

(c) Annapurna Dugdha Vitran Yojana

(d) Works done under RMSA, SSA and Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan

(e) ICT @ School Scheme

B.

Food and Civil Supplies

(a) NFSA

(b) PDS

(c) Annapurna

C. Power

(a) Release of Agricultural, industrial and domestic connections

(b) Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana

(c) Progress of replacement of meters

(d) Other services provided by DISCOMS

D. Social Justice and Empowerment

(a) Pension schemes-Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Vriddhavastha pension, Indira
Gandhi Rashtriya Vidhwa pension, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Nishakt
Pension Yojana, Mukhyamantri Vriddhajan Samman Pension Yojana,
Mukhyamantri Ekalnaari Samman Pension Yojana, Mukhyamantri Vishesh
Yogyajan Samman Pension Yojana.

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(b) Scholarship Schemes- Post Metric Scholarship Scheme (SC,ST, OBC), Dr.
Ambedkar Economically Weaker Section post metric scholarship scheme,
Mukhyamantri Sarvjan Uchchha Shiksha Chhatravritti Yojana

(c) Anuprati Yojana

(d) SC/ST Hostels

(e) Palanhaar Yojana

E. Health.

(a)

Health services including immunization.

(b)

Services rendered by the nearest Sub-Centre/PHC/CHC.

(c)

Ayurved, Homeopathy and Unani dispensaries and hospitals

(d) Mukhya Mantri Jeevan Raksha kosh

(e) Ayushman Bharat Mahatma Gandhi Rajasthan Swasthya Bima Yojana

(f) Janani Surakhsha Yojna

(g) Free medicine and diagnostic tests scheme

F.

Forest and Environment.

(a)

Programmes implemented in the area by the Joint Forest Management
Committee.

(b)

Tree Plantation projects and Programmes

(c)

Forest Dwellers Rights Act

(d) Minor Forest Produce collection and purchase

G.

Water and Sanitation.

(a)

Quality & quantity of water supply.

(b)

Services provided by the PHE Department and Janta Jal Yojna

(c)

Total Sanitation programmes including Swaach Bharat Mission.

(d) Status of the water conservation structures created under various
schemes, utilization and impact on water situation

(e) Status of medium and minor irrigation dams and Tanks, irrigation
potential created and utilized

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H.

Employment and Skilling.

(a) Number of youths trained under the various Skill Development schemes

(b)

No got employed/self-employed after the training

(c)

Awareness on Skilling needs and opportunities.

I.

Roads and Transport.

(a)

Roads constructed by the PWD Department.

(b)

PMGSY roads.

(c) Krishi Upaj Mandi Roads

J.

Agriculture and Allied activities.

(a)

Schemes implemented by the Agriculture and allied departments.

(b)

Cattle development Programme,

c) Veterinary dispensaries and Hospitals

(c) Farmer Training Schemes

K. Community and Rural Development.

(a)

MGNREGS.

(b)

IAY/PMAY

(c)

All other programmes of Rural Development like MLALADS, MPLADS,
BADP, DANG, MEWAT Area development programme

L.

Women and Child Development:

(a)

Integrated Children Development Scheme (ICDS)

(b)

Kishori Yojana

M.

National Food Security Act and programmes implemented by Food & Civil
Supplies.

N.

Any other scheme, entitlement, programme notified by the Government from
time to time.

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SECOND SCHEDULE

[Under section 19(4)]

SOCIAL AUDIT FRAMEWORK

1.

The Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan).

(1)

The State Government shall establish a society under the Societies
Registration Act, 1860 to facilitate conduct of social audits. The
said society shall be called the Society for Social Audit and
Transparency (Rajasthan).

(2)

The Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)shall be
headed by a Director who shall be identified by an independent
search and selection process.

(3)

The Director shall be assisted by independent staff at the state,
district and block levels.

(4)

There shall be a Governing Body of the Society for Social Audit
and Transparency (Rajasthan) which shall oversee the functioning
of the Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan).

2.

Governing Body of the Society for Social Audit and Transparency
(Rajasthan).

(1)

The Governing Body of the Society for Social Audit and
Transparency (Rajasthan)shall contain 15 members including the
Director and the chairperson of the Rajasthan Transparency and
Accountability Commission (RTAC). Its constitution shall be as
follows:

(a)

A nominee the Commission shall be a member;

(b)

Seven members shall be from among eminent persons
recognized for their work a social sector, academia or
journalism;

(c)

The State Principal Accountant General or his/her
representative should be a member;

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(d)

The chairperson of the RTAC shall be the chairperson of the
Governing Body and the Director shall be the convener of
the Governing Body;

(e)

33% of the members should be women; and

(f)

33% of the members should be from among SC/ST
communities.

(2)

The Governing Body should meet at least twice a year.

(3)

The Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)shall
have an Executive Committee which shall be constituted as per
rules.

(4)

The Executive Committee shall meet periodically meet to take
operational decisions.

3.

Responsibilities of the Society for Social Audit and Transparency
(Rajasthan).

(1)

The Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)shall at
the beginning of the year, frame an annual calendar to conduct at
least one social audit in each Gram Panchayat every year, and a
copy of the calendar shall be sent to all the Heads of Departments
and District Collectors for making necessary arrangements. The
Annual Calendar shall be published on the web portal within one
month of the commencement of the financial year.

(2)

The Calendar shall include social audits of schemes/programs as
enumerated in First Schedule.

(3)

The Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan) shall
ensure that the social audits are conducted as per the auditing
standards of Social Audit prescribed by the Comptroller and
Auditor General and incorporated in the Rules under this Act.
Further, the Society for Social Audit and Transparency
(Rajasthan)shall:

(4)

develop appropriate protocol including social audit formats,
resource material, guidelines and manuals for carrying out social
audit of respective Department/ Scheme/ Programme.

(5)

build capacities of citizens for conducting social audit and towards
this purpose, identify, train and deploy suitable resource persons at

35

village, block, district and state level, drawing from primary
stakeholders and other civil society organizations having
knowledge and experience of working for the rights of the people.

(6)

Depute Social Audit Facilitation Teams which shall be responsible
for effective conduct of Social Audit in the respective geographical
units. The resource persons attached to the Team deployed for
facilitating social audit in a panchayat, shall not be residents of the
same panchayat/ward.

(7)

Oversee and ensure the successful completion of social audit cycle,
as per the annual calendar.

(8)

In all cases where an Action Take Report on Social Audit findings
are not generated within 30 days, or the Society for Social Audit
and Transparency (Rajasthan) is dissatisfied with the action taken,
it shall be responsible for registering such pending social audit
findings as grievances in the Information and Facilitation Centre of
the GP/Ward concerned.

(9)

The social audit reports shall be prepared in local language by the
Social Audit Unit and displayed on the notice board of the Gram
Panchayat and in the Information and Facilitation Centres. It shall
be uploaded in the public domain by the Society for Social Audit
and Transparency (Rajasthan)within 48 hours of the completion of
the public hearing.

(10)

The Society for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)will
prepare an annual report laying down summary of social audit
findings, Department wise, and forward it to the concerned Head of
Department, the Principal Accountant General and the Commission

4.

Responsibilities of District Collector.

(1)

The District Collector in his capacity of the District Social Audit
Convener shall ensure:

(a)

timely and complete provision of records to the social audit
teams by different departments as per the social audit
calendar;

(b)

convening and making arrangements for the social audit
public hearings including logistics and law and order and
attendance of department officials;

36

(c)

follow up action on the social audit findings by the
departments including their registration and processing
within the block and district level public hearings.

(2)

The District Social Audit Convener shall be assisted by the District
Facilitation Unit for the implementation.

(3)

The functions of the district level Unit shall be,-

(i)

to facilitate Social Audit and Public Hearings as per calendar;

(ii)

to coordinate with the concerned Social Audit Nodal Officers
and ensure effective participation of the departments
implementing the Schemes/ programs in First Schedule;

(iii)

to facilitate the Public Hearings of social audit at the Block
level.

(iv)

to monitor time bound redress of the grievances raised during
the Social Audit and Public Hearings;

(v)

to submit the reports and findings of social audit to the Society
for Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan); and

(vi)

to carry out such other functions as may be prescribed.

(4)

The District Collector shall be vested with such powers by the
State Government as may be necessary to have supervisory control
on line agencies to effectively implement the provisions of this Act.

5.

Designation of Nodal Officers.

(1)

The departments, responsible for the implementation of the
developmental programs and public services as listed in First
Schedule, shall designate an officer as the State Nodal Officer for
the purposes of this Act at the State level.

(2)

The departments will identify an officer not below the rank of the
District head as the District Nodal Officer for implementation of
this Act at the District level who shall be responsible to make
necessary information to the Social Audit Facilitator in the manner
as specified by the Society for Social Audit and Transparency
(Rajasthan).

(3)

The departments will identify an officer not below the rank of the
Block Level Officer as the Nodal Officer for implementation of
this Act at the Block level.

37

6.

Responsibilities of the State Government.

(1) The conduct of social audit shall be an independent process and no
implementing agency shall interfere or seen to be interfering with
the conduct of social audit.

(2) The State Government shall release funds to the Society for Social
Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)as per the budget drawn up by
the Unit.

(3) Ensure that all the required information and records of all
implementing agencies such as registers, gram Sabha resolutions,
administrative, technical and financial sanctions, work estimates,
bills and vouchers, measurement books and all documents relating
to receipts and expenditure of any government scheme/
programme being implemented including any other document that
the social audit unit requires to conduct the social audit process,
are properly collated in the requisite formats and provided along
with photocopies to the Social Audit Unit for facilitating conduct
of social audit at least fifteen days in advance of the scheduled
date of hearing of the Social Audit.

(4) Ensure that the information shared with the social audit unit shall
be made publicly available at the same time through appropriate
measures such as availability of photocopies, summary reports,
annual reports, pamphlets, wall painting, information and
facilitation centers, and publicly available Management
Information System reports which contain the details of
expenditure made and benefits provided under the particular
scheme.

(5) Submit an Action Taken Report on Social Audit findings within 30
days of the social audit public hearing and upload the same in the
public domain within 48 hours of its preparation.

(6) Ensure that the Head of the Department notify an appropriate
protocol specifying the type of action to be taken by concerned
Department on social audit findings.

(7) Recover the amount embezzled or improperly utilized and issue
receipts or acknowledgement for the amount so recovered.

(8) Return monies/goods due to beneficiaries found to be
misappropriated, within seven days of the recovery of such
amount.

38

(9) Maintain a separate account for amounts recovered during the
social audit process.

(10) Ensure the safety of all persons involved in the social audit
process.

7.

Social Audit Process

(1)

In consonance with the Auditing Standards of Social Audit, the
Social Audit Facilitation Team shall ensure the following:

(a)

Availability of all records provided by the Department and
duly certified by the Society for Social Audit and
Transparency (Rajasthan), arrangement of the same in a de-
mystified manner and generation of necessary reports

(b)

Mandatory disclosure of information all records and
information that are made available to the Society for Social
Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)Resource Persons, to the
residents of the Gram Panchayat, such as;

(i)

Information to be shared in house to house visits

(ii)

Information to be painted on the walls by the
administration and verified/certified by the Society for
Social Audit and Transparency (Rajasthan)Resource
Persons as per formats prescribed.

(iii)

Information disclosure in the Gram Sabha of the
findings of the social audit exercise

(c)

Verification of delivery of goods and services, including the
process of decision making

(d)

Gathering and recording of oral, physical and documentary
evidence to substantiate findings

(6)

The IFC will extend support and assistance to the social audit
facilitation team in providing information, filing grievances and
application and uploading of social audit reports.

(7)

The Social Audit process will end with a Social Audit Public
Hearing and the Society for Social Audit and Transparency
(Rajasthan)should make adequate arrangements for conducting
Social Audit Public Hearing, including creating an enabling

39

atmosphere free of fear and giving all those who want to
participate, a fair and equal chance to participate and be heard

8.

Social Audit Hearing.

(1)

As part of the social audit process, a Social Audit public hearing
shall be held at a location appropriate to the institution/programme
being audited in the Panchayat/Ward level to present the findings
of the verification exercise and also to review the compliance on
transparency and accountability fulfilment of the rights and
entitlements of labourers and proper utilization of funds.

(2)

All elected members of the Panchayat/Ward and staff involved in
implementing the schemes/programmes being audited (including
staff of non-governmental organizations, self-help groups and
payment disbursing agencies) shall be present at the Social Audit
public hearing and respond to queries.

(3)

The District Collector or his representative shall attend the Social
Audit public hearing, or nominate an official of appropriate level
for smooth conduct of the same. The Social Audit shall be chaired
by a representative/nominee of the State Commission.

(4)

The Social Audit shall provide a platform to all persons to seek and
obtain further information and responses from all involved in the
implementation of the programme/scheme concerned. It will also
provide a platform to any person who has any contribution to make
and relevant information to present.

(5)

Hearing shall be an occasion for persons to file applications and
seek information on waiting list/priority list for availing benefits
under various schemes.

(6)

The action taken report relating to the previous social audit shall be
read out at the beginning of the hearing of each social audit

9.

Regulations. Various aspects of the social audit to be conducted under
this Chapter shall be governed by the Regulations made and notified by the
government under this Act.

40

THIRD SCHEDULE

Findings to be arrived in the Action Take Report

The Grievance Redress Officer shall necessarily record a finding on
following aspects in the Action Taken Report:

(a) whether a violation is made out and if the grievance is valid or invalid

(i)If an entitlement has not been violated, the Grievance Redress
Officer must declare the grievance to be invalid with reasons
recorded. The Action Take Report will be considered closed.

(ii)If an entitlement is violated, record in clear terms the extent of the
violation

(b)In case of a valid grievance, status regarding the delivery of
entitlement

(i)The Grievance Redress Officer shall endeavor to ensure the
delivery of entitlement at the earliest. If the Grievance Redress
Officer is able to get the concerned functionary to deliver the
entitlement, the grievance will be said to have been redressed
and the Action Take Report shall be considered "closed".

(ii)In cases at the time of making of the Action Take Report, the
grievance has not been redressed, the Grievance Redress
Officer shall specify a future date for the delivery of
entitlement. If the Grievance Redress Officer specifies a date
for delivery of entitlement beyond 30 days, he shall specify
"special reasons" for such a delay. Such an Action Take Report
will be considered "open". The Grievance Redress Officer shall
review the Action Take Report before or on the promised date
for delivery of entitlement. A compliance report shall declare
the grievance to be redressed if the entitlement has been
delivered. If by the promised date the entitlement has not been
delivered, the Grievance Redress Officer shall declare the
compliance to be unsuccessful and specify the reasons for the
failure and take steps to ensure delivery as soon as possible.

(iii)In cases where the Grievance Redress Officer is of the opinion
that the entitlement cannot be delivered at all even though the
grievance is held valid, he shall state the same along with the
reasons for the failure. Such a matter shall be forwarded to the
Commission.

41

(c) In case of a valid grievance, fixing responsibility for the failure of
delivery of entitlement

(i)If failure in the delivery of the entitlement is on account of reasons
within the control of the concerned functionary, the same should
be recorded. The Grievance Redress Officer shall record the
responsible functionary by name and describe for the precise
violation.

(ii)If the failure in the delivery of the entitlement is for reasons
beyond the control of the concerned functionary, the grievance
should be marked to the Head of the Department with a copy to
the District Authority.

42

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

Accountability and transparency are two important elements of good
governance. Transparency is a powerful force, when consistently applied, can
help fight corruption, improve governance and promote accountability.
Accountability refers to obligations of the Public officials on usage of public
resources, delivery of public goods and services and answerability to meet
stated performance objectives.

To provide good governance, Rajasthan made some pioneering efforts in
the country to bring transparency and accountability namely the Rajasthan Right
to Information Act, 2000(which became the basis for the national Right to
Information Act,2005 and was repealed), The Rajasthan Right to Hearing Act
which was the first law in the country to grant right of hearing and redress of
grievance within 15 days and The Rajasthan Guaranteed Delivery of Public
Services Act, 2011 .Besides, Citizen Charters were issued voluntarily by the
Departments in 2001 promising time bound service delivery and with quality.
With the advent of Information Technology, dedicated Portals like Sampark and
e-Mitra and departmental portals for online receipt of complaints, redress of
grievances and provision of online services were set up. With these steps, it was
expected that the number of public grievances would drastically come down but
that did not seem to have happened. It was felt that these efforts were
noteworthy, but in the absence of an overarching structure, their impact was
diffused and limited. In this context, it was felt that rights based approach be
followed in this respect by making the Citizens Charter statutory and endowing
public with the right to get delivery of services and redress of grievances within
stipulated time lines, right to hearing and bringing notified public services and
entitlements within the ambit of Social Audit for good governance by bringing
in effective transparency and accountability measures that should be enforced
through independent and empowered institutions.

In view of the aforesaid, it has been felt necessary to enact a
comprehensive legislation, namely, the Rajasthan Transparency and Social
Accountability Bill, 2020. The Bill, inter alia,-

(a)

confers right on every individual citizen to time bound delivery of
goods and provision for services, Redress of grievances, right to
Hearing and Social Audit;

43

(b)

require every public authority to publish, within three months of
the commencement of the proposed legislation, a Citizens Charter
specifying therein the category of goods supplied and services
rendered by it, the time within which such goods shall be supplied
or services be rendered the name and addresses of individuals
responsible for the delivery of goods or rendering of services;

(c)

provide for obligation of the Head of the Department for updating
and verifying the Citizen charter;

(d)

require every Public Authority to establish Information and
Facilitation Center for efficient and effective delivery of services
and redress of grievances, which may include establishment of
customer care center, call center, help desk and people’s support
center;

(e)

require every public authority to, within three months from the date
of the coming into force of the proposed legislation, designate as
many officers as may be necessary as Grievance Redress Officers
in all administrative units or offices at the State, district and sub-
district levels, municipalities, Panchayats whereat supplies of
goods or render services to receive, enquire into and redress any
complaints from citizens in the prescribed manner;

(f)

require the concerned Grievance Redress Officer, upon receipt of a
complaint, to ensure that the grievance is remedied in a timeframe
not exceeding thirty days from the date of receipt of the complaint,
promote accountability. Accountability refers to the obligation of
the public officials on the usage of public resources and
answerability for failing to meet stated performance objectives.

(g)

provides that any individual aggrieved by a decision of the
concerned Grievance Redress Officer or who has not received an
action taken report in respect of a complaint filed by him, may, if
he so desires, within thirty days from the expiry of such period or
from the receipt of such decision, prefer an appeal to the
Designated Authority who shall disposed of such appeal within
thirty days from the date of receipt of such appeal;

(h)

provide for establishing District and Sub Divisional Transparency
and Accountability Committees (in place of the existing District

44

and Sub Divisional Vigilance Committees) with more teeth, to hear
and redress grievances and monitor the implementation of the Act.

(I)

provide for constitution of the Rajasthan Transparency and
Accountability Commission consisting of Chief Commissioners
and other Commissioners with clearly defined functions;

(j)

any person aggrieved by the decision of the Designated Authority
falling under the jurisdiction of the State Government may prefer
an appeal to the State Public Grievance Redress Commission and
any person aggrieved by the decision of the Designated Authority.
The commission will also have powers to take suo moto notice of
grievances and redress them.

(k)

confer power upon the Designated Authority, the State Public
Grievance Redress Commission and the to impose a lump sum
penalty, including compensation to the complainant, against
designated official responsible for delivery of goods and services
or Grievance Redress Officer for their failure to deliver goods or
render services to which the applicant is entitled and the public
authorities failing to discharge their obligations under the Act,
which may extend up to twenty thousand rupees which shall be
recovered from the salary of the official against whom penalty has
been imposed;

(l)

provides that on the imposition of the penalty, the appellate
authority may, by order, direct that such portion of the penalty
imposed under the proposed legislation shall be awarded to the
appellant, as compensation, not exceeding the amount of penalty
imposed, as it may deem fit;

(m)

provides that if any public servant is found guilty of offence, the
disciplinary authority shall initiate the disciplinary proceedings
against such officer of the public authority, who if proved to be
guilty of a mala fide action in respect of any provision of this Act,
shall be liable to such punishment including a penalty as the
disciplinary authority may decide;

(n)

provides that in any appeal proceedings, the burden of proof to
establish that a non-redress of complaint by the Grievance Redress
Officer shall be on the Grievance Redress Officer who denied the
request

45

(o)

provides that where it appears to the Designated Authority or the
State Transparency and Accountability Commission that the
grievance complained of is prima facie indicative of a corrupt act
or practice in terms of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on
the part of the responsible officer of the public authority
complained against then it shall record such evidence as may be
found in support of such conclusion and shall refer the same to the
appropriate authorities competent to take cognizance of such
corrupt practice;

(p)

provides that public servants doing exemplary work under the Act
shall be incentivized and rewarded;

(q)

provides that within next three years, efforts shall be made to
provide maximum number of services online;

(r)

provide for simplification of procedures and other governance
reforms like job charts and link it with performance appraisal of
public servants for more accountability and efficient delivery of
services.

The Bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives.

Hence the Bill.

Minister Incharge

46

FINANCIAL MEMORANDUM

The Bill requires se
tti
ng up of

i) Rajasthan Transparency and Social Accountability Commission consis
ti
ng
of the Chief Commissioner and such number of Commissioners as
may be prescribed and other o
ffi
cers and employees as required for
the discharge of the func
ti
ons of the Commission;

ii) District and sub Divisional Transparency and Accountability Commi
tt
ees
in each district;

iii) Designated Authority at each District Headquarter;

iv) Society for Social Audit Accountability and Transparency as state nodal
agency for social audit, establishment of District, Block and Village Social
Audit Facilita
ti
on Units and deployment of State, district and Village
Resource persons to facilitate social audit by the Gram Sabha and Ward
Sabha’s public hearings for social audit; and

v) Se
tti
ng up of an” Incen
ti
ve Fund”.

It is expected that the Bill, if enacted and brought into opera
ti
on, would
involve an expenditure to the tune of rupees eleven crore, which can largely be
met out of the exis
ti
ng provisions as per details given in the Report of the
Commi
tt
ee.

Minister Incharge

47

Final draft -bill-14.02.2020 (1)

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