Prof Pramod to head Haryana Governance Reforms Authority

CHANDIGARH, JAN 4

The Haryana Government has set up Haryana Governance Reforms Authority (HGRA) under the chairmanship of Director, Institute for Development and Communication (IDC), Chandigarh, Prof. Pramod Kumar, to enhance the quality and ease of access of all citizens to various development programmes, services and schemes of the State Government and to make the delivery of services harassment and corruption-free.

        While stating this here today, an official spokesman said that Retired Justice B.B. Parsoon and former Chief Secretary, Mr. P.K. Chaudhery would be the vice-chairpersons of the Authority. 
He said that other Members of the Authority included former Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh and former Chairperson, Medical Council of India, Prof. K.K. Talwar, IAS (Retd.) Mr. Harbhajan Singh, former DGP, Mr. S.K. Sharma and Director (Research) – Gender Studies, IDC, Dr. Rainuka Dagar. Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr. Rajesh Khullar and Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister, Mr. Neeraj Daftuar would be the Official Members of the Authority.
He said that the Authority would suggest changes in the processes, procedures, rules, regulations, design of various public services, social and economic programs and social security schemes to improve their delivery and to ensure that the disadvantaged, marginalised and deprived sections of society are able to access these in a dignified manner. It would also suggest changes in the institutional arrangements of the State Government, Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions required to deliver services to citizens, and the dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure active engagement of expert citizens.

The Authority would also make recommendations for improving health, literacy, social development indicators of gender, caste and other disadvantaged groups, strengthening citizenship rights in provisioning and use of police services, enhancing convergence of e-governance with citizen’s engagement in administration, improving the grievance redressal mechanism and ensuring accountability of service providers, and new modalities for skill upgradation, training and redressal of grievances of service providers.

He said that the Authority would also evolve measures that reduce delays and ensure promptness in delivery of services and suggest progressive interventions to make administration more accessible and outcome oriented. These interventions would include process simplification, flexibility to implementing agencies, delivery systems customised to local needs, strengthening citizen-centric decision-making, facilitating accessibility of user groups to decision-making processes, augmenting facilities for submission and redressal of grievance and feedback mechanisms. It would also set up consultative mechanisms for receiving suggestions, ensure freedom of information, and encourage transparency, besides ensuring optimisation of existing human and financial resources and evolving equity-based sustainable models for public agencies to deliver services. It would also reduce the overlap of responsibilities of public agencies in provisioning of services, scheme and programmes and making suggestions that improve and streamline coordination between various public agencies. The Authority would examine the role of the third tier of Government to improve implementation, execution and supervision of public programmes, scheme and services. In making these suggestions, the capacity of PRIs and ULBs would be kept in mind. It would also undertake monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of such reform initiatives taken up on the recommendations of the Authority or otherwise, and make suggestions to the Government as considered necessary, including mid-course corrections.

He said that to ensure speedy implementation of its recommendations, the Authority would submit periodic reports to and have consultations with an Empowered Committee to be set up separately by the Haryana Government under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. The Empowered Committee would also monitor implementation of the recommendations of the Authority and would submit Action Taken Reports to the Government and the Authority within a stipulated time. The Authority would submit any further report only after receiving ATR from the Empowered Committee on its previous reports, he added.

SUGGESTIONS INVITED: The Haryana Government has invited suggestions from the people of the State to prepare new Excise Policy for 2017-18.
        While stating this here today, a spokesman of the Excise and Taxation Department said that the suggestions could be sent via post to the office of Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Haryana, Vanijya Bhawan, Plot number 1-3, Sector 5, Panchkula, or via e-mail at hoharyanatax@gmail.com and aetchq@gmail.com by January 15, 2017.

RENAMING OF VILLAGE: Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal, has approved a proposal to rename village ‘Ganda’ in block and tehsil Ratia in district Fatehabad as ‘Ajit Nagar’.
        While stating this here today, an official spokesman said that the name ‘Ajit’ had been drawn from the name of the son of tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
        He said that the proposal would now be forwarded to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for its approval.

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