Citizen-friendly Service that curbs Corruption in Bangalore?
Public Services are those services that are provided by government bodies to meet the civic requirements. Citizens’ wellbeing is ensured by time-bound and efficient service delivery. However, a respondent complained on the lackadaisical approach of the government in this regard.
The respondent from Bangalore expressed his disappointment on the inefficient and corrupt delivery of public services. The respondent had applied for a new water connection for his renovated house which was already approved by the BDA and BBMP. Following this, he reports on how the officials later had changed the category of the meter without his knowledge and then coaxed him to pay a bribe for transferring it for domestic use.
Another respondent from Bangalore also shared his similar plight. Highly disillusioned at the functioning of the Registration department, the citizen (self-claimed as a ‘Sufferer’) posts on how a 600 % extra charges was demanded from him to process his new building’s Khata transfer.
Sakala Scheme:
To keep a check on corruption and to ensure transparency in public service sector, the government of Karnataka has launched a forum for transparency called the Sakala Scheme that guarantees citizen services across Karnataka. This scheme presently ensures time-bound delivery of 151 services along with a recent update on some additional services to be included in the list. BBMP, BWSSB and such other civic bodies come under the purview of Sakala where people can avail their services without having to pay a bribe, within a stipulated period.Read more on this scheme: Sakala details
Indicating on the positive response regarding the implementation of the scheme, Shalini Rajneesh, Mission Director (Sakala) and Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reform had recently mentioned in a newspaper publication that the corruption has decreased to nearly 40%.With an increased number of services and departments that are expected to come under the purview of the scheme, the scheme is expected to act as a breather to the citizens of Bangalore.