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What is a Citizens Charter?
Citizens Charter is a document which represents asystematic effort to focus on the commitment of the
Organisation towards its Citizens in respects of Standard ofServices, Information, Choice and Consultation, Non-
discrimination and Accessibility, Grievance Redress,
Courtesy and Value for Money. This also includes
expectations of the Organisation from the Citizen forfulfilling the commitment of the Organisation.
Who is a Citizen with reference to Citizens
Charter?
The term Citizen in the Citizens Charter implies theclients or customers whose interests and values are
addressed by the Citizens Charter and, therefore, includesnot only the citizens but also all the stakeholders, i.e.,
citizens, customers, clients, users, beneficiaries, other
Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations, StateGovernments, UT Administrations etc.
Whether Ministries/ Departments/ Agencies of
State Governments and UT Administrations are
also required to formulate Citizens Charters?
Citizens Charter initiative not only covers the CentralGovernment Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations but
also the Departments/ Agencies of State Governments and
UT Administrations. Various Departments/ Agencies ofmany State Governments and UT Administrations have
brought out their Charters. More than 600 CitizensCharters have so far been issued by Agencies/Organisations of 24 States/ Union Territories.
Whether Citizens Charter is legally enforceable?
No. The Citizens Charter is not legally enforceable and,
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therefore, is non-justiciable. However, it is a tool for
facilitating the delivery of services to citizens with specified
standards, quality and time frame etc. with commitmentsfrom the Organisation and its clients.
What is the role of Department of Administrative
Reforms and Public Grievances in Citizens Charter
Initiative in the Government?
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public
Grievances in Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions, Government of India, in its efforts to provide
more responsive and citizen-friendly governance,coordinates the efforts to formulate and operationalise
Citizens Charters in Central Government, StateGovernments and UT Administrations. It provides
guidelines for formulation and implementation of theCharters as well as their evaluation.
What are the components of a Citizens Charter?
A good Citizens Charter should have thefollowing components :-
(i) Vision and Mission Statement of theOrganisation
(ii) Details of Business transacted by theOrganisation
(iii) Details of Citizens or Clients
(iv) Statement of services including standards,
quality, time frame etc. provided to each Citizen/ Clientgroup separately and how/ where to get the services
(v) Details of Grievance Redress Mechanism
and how to access it
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(vi) Expectations from the Citizens or Clients
(vii) Additional commitments such ascompensation in the event of failure of service delivery.
I want to formulate a Citizens Charter
of my Organisation. How I should go about it?
Following road map may be adopted to formulate theCitizens Charter in your Organisation :-
(i) Setting up of a Task Force in the
Organisation to formulate the Citizens Charter
(ii) Identification of all stakeholders in the
Organisation and major services provided byOrganisation;
(iii) Setting up of a Core Group in the
Organisation consisting of representatives from all
stakeholders which inter-alia may include TopManagement, Middle Management, cutting-edge
level, staff representatives, strategic partners,Customers/ Clients etc.;
The Core Group shall oversee the formulation
of the Citizens Charter and approve it. It shallmonitor its implementation thereafter.
(iv) Consultation with Clients/ Stakeholders/
Staff (Primarily at cutting-edge level) and theirrepresentative associations;
(v) Preparation of Draft Citizens Charter;
(a) Circulation for comments/
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suggestions
(b) Modification of Charter toinclude suggestions.
(vi) Submission of draft Charter to Departmentof Administrative Reforms and PublicGrievances
(vii) Consideration of the Charter by Core Group
(viii) Modification of Charter by the Ministry/
Department n the basis of suggestions/ observations by theCore Group
(ix) Approval by Minister-in-charge
(x) Formal issue/ release of Charter and puttingup on website
(xi) Sending copies to Peoples Representativesand all stakeholders
(xii) Appointment of a Nodal Officer to ensure
effective implementation.
What are the dos and donts for an
Organisation in formulation and
implementation of Citizens Charter?
Following may be kept in view by an Organisation
while formulating/ implementing Citizens Charter :-
S.No.Dos Donts
1 Make haste, Dont merely make
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slowly. haste.
2 List areas of
interface.
Dont be unrealistic
in makingcommitments.
3 Phase out areas for
introduction ofsmall steps.
Dont take on morethan you cancommit.
4 Involve customer
and staff informulating andimplementing it
Dont involve only
senior officers in theformulation andimplementation.
5 Prepare a Master
Plan forformulation and
implementation
over five years andbudget for it.
Dont rush into anoverall package forthe whole Ministry/
Department/
Organisation.
6 Win consumerconfidence with
small, highlyvisible measures.
Dont promise morethan you can deliver
at a given point oftime.
7 Remember
Citizen's Charter is
a constantlyevolving process.
Dont look upon itas a one-time
exercise, with afinal outcome.
8 Inform the
customers of the
proposedcommitments.
Dont inform thecustomer unless you
are sure ofdelivering the
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service.
9 Use simple
language.
Dont use jargon,
abbreviations etc.
10 Train your staff
about their role and
responsibility inthe implementation
of the Charter.
Dont leave yourselfout.
11 Delegate powers to
the Staff to enable
them to discharge
their
responsibilities.
Dont centralise.
12 Set up systems for
feedback and
independentscrutiny.
Dont continueblindly without
regular periodicreassessment of
performance.
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