Patna, Aug. 18: The Right to Public Service (RTPS) Act is yielding dividends for the people.

Some departments, the services of which have been brought under the ambit of the act, have started delivering services even before the time limit set for them.

One among them is the general administration department, where 261 applications were disposed of in the first two working days (August 16 and 17) of the act despite the fact the officials supposed to deliver the services had 21 days to do so.

“These applications were related to caste, income and residential certificates. The delivery of services goes to show that field officials have understood the firm determination of the government to deliver services to the people within a stipulated time,” a source in the state headquarters, who has been closely associated with developing the system of implementation of the RTPS Act, told The Telegraph today.

He said over 1,200 applications were disposed of in the first two days by departments such as revenue and land reforms, social welfare, registration and home. (See Chart)

The source said the number of applications acted upon was likely to see a surge in the days to come as field officials were in the process of getting accustomed to the new rules. Once they did so, their pace of work too would increase, he said.

“All designated public servants are conscious of delivering the services in time and there is a sense of urgency. They know it well that non-delivery of services within the stipulated time would not only attract a fine but also an adverse entry in the service book, which in turn, would have an adverse impact on their career,” said a senior administrative official of Vaishali district.

He said senior officials in the district administration were keeping a close tab on the field officials and monitoring their work on a regular basis. He, however, also maintained that the real test of efficiency of field officials would take place in the coming months when the number of applications would go up with increasing awareness among the people about the law.

An official working with the West Champaran administration said the real test would be in delivering services like mutation. “The majority of circle officers, who are supposed to deliver this service, depend on revenue employees with whom lie the land records. As these employees are not directly responsible for delivering the services, the circle officers are going to have a tough time in meeting the requirement of the Act with a force of such employees,” he said.

He also expressed apprehension about delivery of services from the offices of district transport officers where middlemen are active. “It would be interesting to see how things unfold in such offices,” said the official.

Bihar entered the RTPS Act regime from August 15. As many as 50 services, falling under 20 broad categories, have been put under the ambit of the law.

According to provisions of the Act, officials have to deliver services falling under RTPS within a stipulated time. Those found to be lacking would end up paying a fine from their pockets at a rate of Rs 250 per day with the upper limit being Rs 5,000. Fine apart, the guilty officials would also face action and this would be treated as misconduct on their behalf.