2nd ARC Report – Citizen-Centric Administration

The 2nd ARC Report on Citizen-Centric Administration delves into strategies and recommendations for fostering a government approach centered around the needs and empowerment of citizens.

CONCEPT OF CITIZEN-CENTRIC ADMINISTRATION

• Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr remarked, “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Additionally, Sir Winston Churchill noted, “Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” Even skeptics of traditional representative democracy recognize the citizen’s primary concern: obtaining swift and fair access to government services, whether regulatory, developmental, or welfare-oriented, preferably at their doorstep. Thus, stability, transparency, efficiency, and continuity in governance systems are crucial for citizens’ immediate needs.
• In India, our priority should be to center citizens in a modern public administration to foster inclusive growth. The idea of good governance is not novel, as Kautilya’s Arthashastra emphasized the traits of a well-governed state, where the king’s happiness lies in the welfare of his subjects. Mahatma Gandhi advocated the concept of ‘Swaraj.’ Good governance, with its eight attributes, is intrinsically connected to its citizens.
• Good governance aims to create an environment where all citizens, regardless of class, caste, or gender, can reach their full potential. It also strives to provide public services effectively, efficiently, and equitably. The four pillars supporting the foundation of good governance are Ethos (service to the citizen), Ethics (honesty, integrity, and transparency), Equity (treating all citizens equally with empathy for the weaker sections), and Efficiency (prompt and effective service delivery without harassment, utilizing ICT increasingly).
• Citizens play a central role in good governance, making the relationship between good governance and citizen-centric administration inseparable. The Constitution reflects the vision of its Founding Fathers for the people, outlining the roles of the three state organs: Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary. It enshrines Fundamental Rights crucial for democracy and Directive Principles of State Policy, embodying the concept of a Welfare State, unique features of the Constitution.

PERCEPTIONS ABOUT GOVERNANCE IN INDIA

• Perceptions about governance in India suggest that public administration is often viewed as unresponsive, insensitive, and corrupt. Bureaucracy is associated with routine procedures, paperwork, and delays. While the government exists to facilitate citizens, rigidities, over-centralization, hierarchical functioning, delays, and lack of accountability have led to a structure where form outweighs substance, and procedures take precedence over outcomes. Non-performance, poor service quality, lack of responsiveness, and negative abuse of authority have eroded trust in governance systems, necessitating urgent restoration.

WHAT AILING PUBLIC SERVICES?

• A study by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) indicates widespread dissatisfaction with public service delivery. In seven out of eleven departments, less than one-third of citizens are satisfied. Need-based services like police, judiciary, and municipalities, where discretion and power are significant, see satisfaction rates below 20 percent. Even essential services like PDS, hospitals, electricity, and water supplies only satisfy 30-40 percent of households. The study highlights the lack of effective complaint redressal systems and citizens’ unawareness or lack of confidence in existing mechanisms, resulting in a sense of helplessness. The behavior of frontline employees is identified as another area of concern.
• Many public service employees are not adapting to the changing expectations and possibilities at the department level, hindering initiatives such as strategic outsourcing of services. Utilizing technology (e.g., e-seva in Andhra Pradesh) and implementing performance-linked incentives, along with periodic tracking, can enhance service quality. Exploring better commercial practices and involving employee welfare associations are additional steps to improve public services. The public service provider should also be held more accountable to citizens through the establishment of user committees, as demonstrated by the success of Rogi Kalyan Samitis in Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, linking outlays directly to outcomes, inspired by the British experiment of Public Service Agreements (PSAs) with local governments, can set objective targets and evaluation mechanisms for various services.

BARRIERS TO GOOD GOVERNANCE

• The reasons for governments not prioritizing citizen-centric approaches can be attributed to the attitudes and actions of some government servants, deficiencies in existing institutional structures, and certain citizens. Despite sound legislation, government functionaries often fail in proper implementation. Weak and ill-conceived institutional structures lack the capacity and resources to enforce laws effectively.
• Attitudinal Problems of Civil Servants: There is growing concern that Civil Services and administration have become rigid, inflexible, self-perpetuating, and inward-looking. This attitude, coupled with the significant power imbalance, results in indifference and insensitivity to citizen needs. Officers may perceive themselves as dispensers of favors rather than public servants, fostering a culture of exaggerated deference to authority.
• Lack of Accountability: Inefficiency in governance is often attributed to the inability to hold civil services accountable for their actions. Disciplinary proceedings against delinquent government servants are rare, primarily due to the separation of authority and accountability. Cumbersome disciplinary procedures and misused safeguards contribute to the lack of accountability. Ineffective performance evaluation systems within the government further exacerbate the issue.
• Red Tape: While bureaucracies worldwide are expected to adhere to rules and procedures for good governance, sometimes these rules are ill-conceived and cumbersome from the start, defeating their purpose. Government servants may become overly preoccupied with rules, viewing them as an end in themselves.
• Low levels of citizen awareness regarding their rights and duties pose a significant challenge to holding government servants accountable. Simultaneously, citizens’ non-compliance with rules hinders good governance, as failure to adhere to duties infringes on the freedom and rights of others. Thus, awareness of rights and adherence to duties are interconnected. A vigilant citizenry, knowledgeable about both their rights and duties, plays a crucial role in ensuring effective and honest discharge of duties by officials and fellow citizens.
• The ineffective implementation of numerous laws across the country, each legislated for various objectives, further complicates the governance landscape. Strong implementation of these laws fosters an environment conducive to the welfare of all citizens and encourages active contributions to societal development. Conversely, weak implementation can lead to hardships and erode citizens’ trust in government machinery.

NEED FOR REFORMS 

• Reforming governance systems is imperative, and the absence of an integrated index to measure governance quality makes it challenging to assess standards directly. While indicators like economic growth and improved literacy and health indices suggest progress, the negative perception of the government among sections of society points to administrative inefficiency. Barriers to good governance underscore the need for significant reforms, with prerequisites including a sound legal framework, robust institutional mechanisms, competent personnel, and effective decentralization policies.
• To make administration more citizen-centric, several tools can be employed, including re-engineering processes, adopting modern technology, implementing the Right to Information, establishing Citizens’ Charters, conducting independent service evaluations, introducing grievance redressal mechanisms, and promoting active citizen participation in public-private partnerships.

CORE PRINCIPLES FOR ENSURING CITIZEN-CENTRIC GOVERNANCE

• In our country, there is a prevalent tendency among some enforcement agencies to not rigorously enforce provisions, particularly noticeable in cases related to traffic and infringement of pollution control laws. Citizens, too, share the blame by flouting rules with impunity, disregarding public health, safety, and consideration for others. Crackdowns on such offenses in certain cities, like Delhi, whether mandated by courts or other authorities, often operate as short-term campaigns driven by personalities or specific verdicts, lacking the ability to create a sustained, long-term impact.
• To address this, all public agencies should adopt a zero-tolerance strategy towards crime, fostering compliance with laws to maintain public order. This strategy needs institutionalization within public agencies, involving the creation of statistical databases supported by modern technology to monitor offense levels and trends. These should be linked to a system of incentives and penalties for agency officials. The approach should also integrate community involvement in crime prevention measures. 

The core principles for ensuring citizen-centric governance are:

• Making Institutions Vibrant, Responsive, and Accountable
• Active Citizens’ Participation – Decentralization and Delegation
• Transparency
• Civil Service Reforms
• Ethics in Governance
• Process Reforms
• Periodic & Independent Evaluation of the Quality of Governance

Citizens expect good governance for prosperity, while bad governance can lead to conflict and civil unrest by limiting citizens’ opportunities. Success in governance hinges on proper policy-making, implementation methodologies, and the dynamic nature of problems. The success of decisions relies on the administrators’ understanding of congruence with public perceptions. Administrators must not only identify issues but also assign relative weights and address them organically, giving importance to stakeholder sensitivities. Participation from all stakeholders, including the government, judiciary, institutions, civil society, and citizens, is crucial for ensuring good governance.

THE SEVOTTAM MODEL

• Sevottam is a Service Delivery Excellence Model designed to serve as an assessment and improvement framework, aiming to enhance excellence in public service delivery. The necessity for a tool like Sevottam became apparent due to the limitation of Citizens’ Charters alone in achieving the desired results for improving the quality of public services. Additionally, the absence of a credible grievances redressal mechanism within organizations posed a significant obstacle to elevating service delivery standards. It was recognized that without a mechanism to assess the outcomes of various measures, reform initiatives might not yield the desired results. The Sevottam model acts as an evaluation mechanism, examining the quality of internal processes and their impact on service delivery.

The Sevottam Model consists of Three Modules:

• Effective Charter Implementation: This module emphasizes the need for organizations to implement Citizens’ Charters effectively, opening a channel for receiving citizens’ inputs into how service delivery requirements are determined. Citizens’ Charters publicly declare information on citizens’ entitlements, making citizens better informed and empowering them to demand better services.
• Public Grievance Redressal: This module focuses on the importance of having a robust grievance redressal system that leaves citizens more satisfied with how organizations respond to complaints and grievances, irrespective of the final decision.
• Excellence in Service Delivery: This module posits that an organization can achieve excellence in service delivery only by efficiently managing key ingredients for good service delivery and building its capacity to continuously improve service delivery.

SEVEN-STEP MODEL FOR CITIZEN-CENTRICITY

Drawing inspiration from IS 15700:2005, the Sevottam model, and the Customer Service Excellence Model of the UK, this seven-step model provides an approach for organizations to become increasingly more citizen-centric. This approach is not exclusive to top management but should be embraced by every unit with a public interface. Top management holds the dual responsibility of setting standards for itself and guiding subordinate offices in setting their standards. All supervisory levels must ensure that subordinate offices’ standards are realistic and aligned with broad organizational goals. Although each office has autonomy in setting standards, they must harmonize with organizational policies.

• Define all services provided and identify clients.
• Set standards and norms for each service.
• Develop the capability to meet set standards.
• Perform to achieve the standards.

• Regularly oversee performance against established standards.
• Assess the impact through an independent mechanism.
• Drive continuous improvement based on monitoring and evaluation results.

STEPS TO PROMOTE CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION

• Conduct a comprehensive review of policy and practices in each department/public agency: Evaluate existing mechanisms for citizens’ participation within each agency/department to develop sustainable and effective participation methods. A department-wide review, encompassing central, regional, and state agencies, ensures the identification of core values, principles, and successful best practices.
• Modify administrative procedures where necessary: Ensure that procedures, budgets, and schedules for policy and program development allow sufficient “windows” for citizens’ involvement, fostering a transparent and accountable decision-making process.
• Entrust the function of institutionalizing citizens’ participation to a senior-level officer: Assign a senior officer reporting to the head of the agency to handle this function with adequate resources and authority, ensuring the issue receives the required priority on a sustainable basis.
• Include effectiveness in ensuring citizens’ participation in governance in performance management reviews: The performance management reviews of senior officers should encompass their role in encouraging citizens’ participation in governance.
• Ensure full participation of women as a specific aim of citizen-centric administration: Reflect this objective in various policies and programs, including citizens’ charters and grievance redressal mechanisms.
• Constitute an expert committee to identify areas requiring special provisions for the physically challenged: The government may form an expert committee to pinpoint areas where mandatory special provisions for the physically challenged are needed. Periodic reviews and expansions of these areas every five years should be considered. Additionally, the government should adopt a proactive approach to the detection and registration of physically challenged persons.

Practice Questions

1. What is the concept of good governance? What are the four pillars on which the edifice of good governance rests?
2. What is the general perception of governance in India? What ails governance in India?
3. Discuss the barriers to good governance in India. 
4. “An analysis of the barriers to good governance reveals that there are several preconditions that must be fulfilled in order to make governance citizen-centric.” Discuss.
5. Discuss the Core Principles for making governance citizen-centric.
6. “Sevottam is a Service Delivery Excellence Model that provides an assessment improvement framework to bring about excellence in public service delivery.” Analyze.

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