Government of India Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances Prime

Ministers Awards for Excellence in Public Administration Nomination Form for the Year 2012-13 Category under which the nomination is being made [please tick () only one option]: (I) Officer of Central / State Government Individually (II) Officers of Central / State Government As a group (III) Organization 2. Details of the Nominee(s):
a) b) c)

1.

d)

e) f)

g)

Name of the nominee Dr. Pramod Kumar Designation of the nominee at the time of the initiative Chairperson Ministry / Department / Organization of the nominee at the time of the initiative, with complete postal address Punjab Governance Reforms Commission, Academic Block, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Institutional Area, Sec 26, Chandigarh, India. Nominee currently posted at / working with Punjab Governance Reforms Commission, Academic Block, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Institutional Area, Sec 26, Chandigarh, India. Current designation Chairperson Present postal address with Pin Code - Punjab Governance Reforms Commission, Academic Block, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Institutional Area, Sec 26, Chandigarh, India. Contact details (Phone & Fax No., E-mail ID, Mobile Phone No.) 0172-4660038, 2625941 (P), 0172-2625942 (F), chairman@pbgrc.org, krpramod.idc@gmail.com, 09988366442,

Details of all the members of the Commission are attached as Annexure A.

3.

Nominating Authority: (I) Name of the nominating authority (Dr. / Mr. / Ms.): Dr Pramod Kumar (II) Name of the Ministry / Department / Organization : Punjab Governance Reforms Commission / (PGRC) (III) Designation of the Nominating Authority : Chairman (IV)Complete postal address with Pin Code: Punjab Governance Reforms Commission, Academic Block, Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Institutional Area, Sec 26, Chandigarh, India (V) Contact details (Phone & Fax No.s, E-mail ID, Mobile Phone No.):
0172-4660038, 2625941 (P), 0172-2625942 (F), chairman@pbgrc.org, krpramod.idc@gmail.com (eMail) 09988366442(M),

4.

Please furnish the details about the initiative, strictly under the subheads prescribed below: (The entire description and narration should not exceed ten one-side A4 size pages). I. Title of the initiative - Rationalization of Affidavits for reforming public service delivery system Ministry / Department / Organization where the initiative was implemented: Departments Name as given below: a. Home Department b. SC/BC Welfare c. Agriculture Department d. Food & Civil Supplies e. Social Security Department f. Land & Records g. Water Supply Department h. Health & Local Govt i. Personnel Certificate j. Police Department k. Other departments where Affidavits were taken from citizens Background of the initiative:The interaction of the State vis--vis citizens continues to remain divergent, even antagonistic, in terms of realization of the claims, entitlements and the basic rights. The institutions, norms and procedures continue to function as colonial constructs, causing a visible disconnect between the State and the people. However, denial of key values such as identity and dignity to the large sections of the population results into an exclusion experience. In this case, they remain deficient citizens. This denial of personhood across board has led to a call for the right to have rights. Affidavits were required in support of facts given by the applicants for issue of various certificates, (residence etc.). Affidavits are affirmations by the

II.

III.

applicants (supported in some cases by third parties). For example, in the case of delayed registration of births up to one year, an affidavit by an applicant is sufficient, whereas, in the case of income certificates, affidavits of third parties are required. The practice was also prevalent in public utility services and affidavits may be required for getting new power connections, water and sewerage connections/new constructions. An affidavit, thus, was an important prerequisite for most of the needbased services. Generally, affidavits required stamp paper/stamp fee and need to be sworn before a Magistrate or a Public Notary. Cost to Citizens Affidavits imposed their own cost on the citizens buying stamp paper, locating a deed writer, payment to the Notary for attestation and, of course, the time and efforts consumed in these processes. On the other hand, affidavits have no particular sanctity in law and the same function can be easily performed by declarations. In Punjab alone, it is estimated that at least half the households file affidavits annually for one service or the other. Extrapolating this figure to India, the total number may be more than 20 crores citizens/affidavits and assuming a cost of Rs.400/- per affidavit (one day wages plus stamps, fees and charges), the total expenses incurred by the citizens in India could well be to the extent of Rs. 8,000 Crores approximately. Abolition of Affidavit for Public Delivery of Services: Affidavits, therefore, have been replaced by Self-Declarations for most of the services in the public utilities/agencies. The applicant/signatory continues to be responsible for the statement made. An advantage that the public agencies have is that they can also impose penal liability for making wrong statements in terms of suspension of the services (suspension of ration card facilities, disconnection of power supply etc.). This practice of Self-Declaration has been adopted in place of affidavits. This has saved a lot of bother and sizeable expenses to the citizen, having to procure stamps/stamp paper that is mostly not available at the place where the affidavit is to be submitted. Some of the Central Government agencies (passport, income tax etc.) have already adopted this practice. There appears to be no legal problem in adopting this practice. The Indian Penal Code contains a number of Sections such as 177, 193, 197, 198, 199 and 200. These Sections specifically deal with the implications of any false information/evidence/disclosure/ declaration made by the deponents and, any such instances have been included to be subjected to the imposition of penalties, fines, registration of criminal cases and even imprisonment. The Punjab Governance Reforms Commission recommended abolition of affidavits for getting various government services, whether these were noy required under any statutory provision. By abolishing this practice of

seeking affidavits from the citizens, government has achieved the prime objective of trusting the citizens and their self-declarations as well as saving precious time and money relating to the preparation and submitting of affidavits.

IV. V.

Motivator(s) for the project initiative:- Dr. Pramod Kumar Purpose & priorities of the initiative To reduce the efforts put by citizens in confirming their identities & statements while applying for public services. To reduce the costs and time of citizens and Government officials involved in the Affidavit process required for Public Service Delivery. Date of implementation of the initiative:- 01/Apr/2010 Strategies adopted for bringing about the transformation and positive impact: Analysis of the different departments services where Affidavit was required. Discussion with the concerned Departments/Agencies to review the requirement of Affidavit for services of their departments. Selection of those services where Affidavit can be replaced with the SelfDeclarations. Field Implementation of the changed process in Suwidha Centers/ Departmental offices. Role of various stakeholders PGRC PGRC did the complete study on requirement of affidavit in public service and initiated the discussion with different departments regarding requirement of Affidavits in services of these departments. Departments Departments verified the importance of the Affidavit in various citizen specific services and then segregated them into 2 parts, where Affidavit is really required and where Self Declaration was enough to prove the citizen statements. Suwidha Centers For effective implementation of this initiative as most of the public services are applied through these centers established by Govt of Punjab. Citizens: - Citizens have become more responsible as they can avail service through self-declaration only. Highlights/positive features of the initiative under each of the following important dimensions: Innovativeness of the initiative and its replicability:- Before starting the practice of Self Declaration, Affidavits were required for various citizen centric services like Residence Certificate, Issuance of Ration Card etc. Now since the new practice of Self Declaration is started, it has reduced

VI. VII.

VIII.

IX.

the time, efforts and costs to the citizen. As per the estimation, more than 20 crores Affidavits are required in India for various services and it costs approx. Rs 8000 crores to the Indian Citizens in an year. The total expenses include the one day wages of applicant, stamps, fee and charges etc. Increased efficiency of outputs/processes and effectiveness of outcomes: - No of applications regarding the Affidavits has been reduced at SUWIDHA Centers drastically. In 2009, the Affidavit related applications were 14,88053, approx. 65.5% of total requests. In 2012-2013, it is only 3,20,963, approx. 9.81%. Due to this, now SUWIDHA centers efficiency has been increased in terms of providing other services to the citizens. Sustainability of the initiative:- The initiative is already implemented in more than 40 citizen related services and work is in progress to achieve more such services to make this initiative more useful and forever. X. Outcomes i.e. impact/benefits resulting from the initiative, for example: Improvement in delivery time of services:- SUWIDHA Centers are delivering the other services within specified timelines and the actual number of the services being dispensed at these centers have gone up four times between the 2009-10 and 2012-13. Better beneficiaries feedback:- This is general perception and the same is reflecting in numbers also that since the Self Declaration has been replaced with Affidavit, the process to avail a lot of services has become smooth. It is beneficial to the Citizens a lot in form of Efforts, Time & Money. Improvement in measurable indicators:- No of applications regarding the Affidavits have been reduced at SUWIDHA Centers drastically. In 2009, the Affidavit related applications were 14,88053, approx. 65.5% of total requests. In 2012-2013, it is only 3,20,963, approx. 9.81%. Simplified procedures: - The practice of Self Declaration needs to be adopted in place of Affidavits. This will save a lot of difficulties, and sizeable expenses for the citizen, having to procure stamps/stamp paper that is mostly not available at the place where the Affidavit is to be submitted. (A comparative analysis of the key result areas, key performance indicators and other socio-economic impact parameters, before and after the implementation of the initiative, in the form of a table, is a MUST) Parameters 2009-10 No of Total Services at Suwidha in 22,68,439 Punjab Count of Affidavit in Punjab 14,88,053 Affidavit % in total no of services in 65.6% Punjab Cost @ 400/- Approx. per Affidavit (in 59.52 Crore 2012-13 32,70,715 3,20,963 9.8% 12.83 Crore

Punjab) Cost includes 1 day wages, stamps, fee & other charges** 5. Has the outcome or impact of the initiative been audited or evaluated by any independent agency for reality check of the realized benefits vis--vis those envisaged?

Yes No NO

(If Yes, please provide brief details thereof, in not more than 100 words)

6.

Was/were this initiative or nominee(s) winner(s) of any other Award(s) instituted by any other National / International organization? NO (If Yes, please provide brief details thereof, in not more than 100 words)

7.

Signature of the Nominating Authority: Name & Address: Designation with Seal: Date:

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Annexure A
S. No. 1. Name and Designation Dr. Pramod Kumar, Chairperson Address H.No. 1404, Sector 42B, Chandigarh Ph. No. 01724660038, 2625941 Fax. No. 0172262594 2 Mobile No. 099883664 42 E-mail ID chairman@ pbgrc.org; krpramod.id c@gmail.co m rngupta41 @yahoo.co .in jrkundal@g mail.com

2.

3.

4.

Sh. R.N. Gupta, IAS (Retd.) Member Sh. J.R. Kundal, IAS (Retd.), Member Prof. Atul Sood, Member

H.No. 10, Sector 8, Panchkula (Haryana) H.No. 1578, Sector 69, Mohali (Punjab)

0172-2575799

0172262594 2 0172262594 2

098722160 00

0172-4649605

098784715 78

5.

Prof. Dipankar Gupta, Member Prof. K.K. Talwar, Member

6.

7.

Dr. G. Vajralingam, IAS, Member Secretary

Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-110067. #1, Palm Marg Annexe, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi 110057 Punjab Governance Reforms Commission (PGRC), MGSIPAP Building, Institutional Area, Sector 26, Chandigarh. H.No. 30, Sector 7A, Chandigarh

011 2670457 3, 26704463

098108164 07

atulsood61 @gmail.co m

011 26145515

098711719 87

dipankargu pta@hotma il.com kktalwar@h otmail.com

0172-2794121

0172279512 1

098682455 50

0172-2743541

0172274151 9

098159885 59

drgvl@hot mail.com