In the photograph taken on September 7, applicants at the Sadar block office in Darbhanga wait to submit their documents. The officials concerned were yet to report for duty though it was well past noon. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Darbhanga, Sept. 10: Implementation of the Right to Public Service (RTPS) Act, which came into force from August 15 and which talks of delivering certain government services to the people within a stipulated time, appears to have been facing roadblocks due to inadequate manpower and required infrastructure.

A visit to the Sadar block of Darbhanga, for example, suggests so. Of around 2,500 applications received in this block, services have been delivered to just half of the applicants in the stipulated time.

Those manning this office have something interesting to offer by way of explaining non-delivery of timely service.

“Our office has the services of just one executive who has to receive application forms and also to feed data into the computer. As the number of applications is increasing with each passing day, we find it difficult to handle the rush with just one computer available in the office,” circle officer Indrahasan Sah told The Telegraph. “No fund has been made available for printing of the certificates and this work is being done by my own resources.”

Asked about the expectations of the people about their rights to get the work done in time, principal secretary, general administration, Deepak Kumar said: “I will talk to the district magistrate in this regard and discuss the situation and their probable solutions as soon as possible.”

Sources said the time limit given for “mutation” was not enough to carry out inquiries. “Only making an act is not sufficient to cater to the needs of the people, the government must ensure efficient employees and resources to accomplish the work in time,” said an official.

Garib Nath Paswan, a resident of Chhotai Patti village, said he had been demanding a residential certificate since August 16 but no one was ready to listen to him. “Each time we are asked to come back, but no relief is offered to us. After the implementation of the Right to Service Act, our work is being delayed without any reason,” he said.

On September 7, a resident of Ruchauli village, Chandan Kumar, kept waiting beyond noon but his application was not being received because the dealing clerk Anil Kumar Rai had still not reported for duty. Chandan had travelled around 16km to submit the form for residential certificate.

The sadar block of Darbhanga is not an isolated case. The condition is no better in other parts of the state. A visitor at Sadar block of Saran district Anil Kumar Singh said it was easier to get a residential certificate before introduction of the law. Another visitor Amarjit Gupta said after introduction of the act, the pace of work had slowed and the certificate which used to be delivered by the block office in two to three days was now being delivered in three weeks.

Another visitor Arun Kumar Sharma said the assistant handling the applications told him he would have to pay a bribe if wished to get his residential certificate quickly. “I felt helpless as the assistant has the protection of law and I cannot complain against him before 21 days,” Sharma said.

The problems are much the same in Muzaffarpur where people were seen waiting to submit their application as there was no one to receive it. Local MLA Dinesh Prasad Kushwaha alleged that block officials were doing it intentionally. “Block officials are trying to sabotage the government’s efforts to deliver services to the people within a stipulated time,” Kushwaha said.

Block officials have their own problems to share while explaining the delay in service delivery. “There is a shortage of staff and the existing ones would take some time to get accustomed to the new pattern of working,” Minapur block development officer N.K. Prasad said.

In East Champaran district, only about one-fifth of 42,844 applications received under RTPS have been disposed of. While the commercial taxes department has been able to clear all applications, the situation is just the opposite in case of applications received for social security pension. Not a single application out of the total 335 received so far has been disposed of.

Summing up the plight of the people, Sirsa panchayat mukhiya Akhtar Nawaz said: “Those who used to get their income, caste or other certificates usually within a week are not getting them even within three weeks mainly due to procedural complexities and even deliberate delaying tactics.”