Rajasthan gives people right to pink-slip babus

JAWAJA (AJMER): The complaints, like always, were many. But the tables had been turned. At the receiving end were government officers as people crowded around demanding an explanation for being denied their right. It was their day of hearing.

A motley group of villagers thrust 'pink slips' towards the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) demanding to know why they were being denied the Re 1 a kg wheat promised by the state government. The pink slips given to them while registering their grievances under the recently implemented Right to Hearing (RTH) Act in Rajasthan had proved to be a stimulus for ensuring a rightful hearing. An enquiry was immediately ordered and soon after 80 of the 109 affected people got their dues.

The simultaneous weekly block-level public hearing day at Raipur in Pali district and at Bhim and Kumbalgarh in Rajsamand district too brought forth their share of complaints. Rations and pensions not reaching beneficiaries, long-overdue MGNREGA payments, a water connection, a 'patta' for land being denied, a sarpanch taking bribes from poor Bhil families in the chief minister's housing programme — even the weakest had their say and redressal was promised.

"This is where a grievance-redress mechanism is crucial to give citizens an opportunity to demand accountability," says Aruna Roy of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), which pioneered the Right to Information Act and is now helping craft the way ahead for the RTH Act in Rajasthan. "The hotly debated Food Security Bill of the country does not have a good redress mechanism. The Right to Hearing Act in Rajasthan is an important step forward, but there are many provisions like independent appellate authorities at a district level that are only present in the central Bill. It is, therefore, imperative that the Centre passes the pending Grievance Redressal Bill in the next session of Parliament to ensure that entitlements under all the schemes, laws and programmes in the country reach the beneficiaries."

Three simple steps carry forward the important journey from transparency to accountability in this Act.

By creating a single window, Rozgar Sahayaks in every panchayat have been made responsible for accepting grievances and applications from people every day between fixed hours at the Rajiv Gandhi Seva Kendras, which have been rechristened Public Hearing Assistance Booths.

A pink receipt is given for all grievances lodged and every Friday all officers assemble at the panchayat, block or district level for an open public hearing. The applicant must be given a hearing within 15 days and a written reasoned order has to be given by the officer concerned within seven days after that. The whole cycle is completed within 21 days, and any delay or violation attracts a penalty.

Tested on a pilot basis first in Rajsamand, the Rajasthan government issued guidelines in April making the format compulsory across the state. But months down the line weaknesses in implementation remain.

A defunct Public Hearing Assistance window, an absconding Rozgar Sahayek or the pink slip never reaching the officer even on the day of the hearing were some of the major flaws noticed by six teams of almost a hundred volunteers of the MKSS that went on a 'yatra' across Raipur (Pali), Jawaja (Ajmer), Bhim, Devgarh, Khumbhalgarh (Rajsamand) and Asind and Mandal (Bhilwara).

"All defaulting officials will be taken to task," says Banna Lal, director, Public Grievance department, Rajasthan. "There are provisions of imposing fines of up to Rs 250 per day for such officials. We have fined a junior engineer for having failed to provide a water connection while a BDO has been put under APO (awaiting posting order). But the Act has ensured that even the weakest now has a forum to speak out. Complaints of corruption have also been investigated and are being acted upon. Lots of complaints pending for years are pouring in."

At a review of the three-week process, attended by government officials and civil society organizations, Nikhil Dey of the MKSS says: "The entire country has been agitated about the lack of accountability at all levels. This exercise can be seen as a continuation of the process of campaigning for a strong law that ensures accountability of officials to the citizen. The Rajasthan government should be given credit for attempting to implement this law, but our experience here underscores the need for the central government and Parliament to draw lessons and immediately enact an effective grievance-redress law."

The volunteers from over 15 districts plan to take this process across Rajasthan, but the question remains whether parliamentarians will hear these voices of distress and hope from the ground level and give people their right to seek accountability.