The Meghalaya Right to Public Service Bill, which the government will lay before the house in during the upcoming Assembly session, need not be put in the public domain, as had been demanded by civil society group, Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR), Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said today.
“Who are they that we should put it in the public domain?” Tynsong asked.
Urging citizens not to misunderstand the nature of the bill, Tynsong said that it is related to delivery mechanism services by government departments. Once the bill is passed into law, the government will immediately implement it to ensure that delivery of services will be faster than before.
“We didn’t have this law for all these years but once this bill becomes an act we will be able to hammer concerned departments or offices if they fail to comply with it,” Tynsong stated.
On Monday TUR said that the Right to Public Services Bill does not go far enough in holding the state civil service machinery to account when providing services to the public.
TUR said it was “shocking” that the government had not opened up the bill to public consultation as framing of legislation to make the bureaucracy more accountable “cannot be left to the bureaucratic class alone.”
