Patna, Aug. 16: At least 12 touts were arrested this afternoon from 23 block offices in the district during simultaneous raids after senior officers swung into action to implement the Right to Public Service (RTPS) Act.

The Telegraph published a report in its August 15, 2012, edition exposing how touts charged extra money from applicants for delivery of services under the RTPS Act, which was put on paper by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Independence Day last year.

District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh said: “We did not know that touts had taken over the whole block office as an advantage of delay in delivering services under the RTPS Act. As soon as it came to my knowledge, I gave an order to raid all the 23 block offices today.”

During the surprise and simultaneous raids by senior district administration officers in all the blocks around 1pm, several touts were arrested with scores of applications for certificates of caste, income and residence among others.

Singh said: “It is disappointing that the common people are being cheated by these touts and the government takes the blame. I would say that whenever people get such complaints, they should immediately contact senior officers or lodge an FIR at the nearest police station so that the administration can take action on time.”

On paper, the RTPS law talks about delivering services within a set deadline. Non-delivery within the stipulated time not only attracts a fine but also an adverse entry in the service book.

“After all, the whole idea behind the RTPS Act is to create a single window system where people should not land in any trouble or need to grease the palms of touts. The administration is thankful for highlighting such an issue,” he said.

According to preliminary estimates, dozen-odd touts have been arrested. The exact number would be available only after compilation of reports from all the blocks by Friday morning, said a district administration official on the condition of anonymity.