LAHORE: Governor Chaudhry Sarwar on Tuesday signed into law the Punjab Right to Public Service Bill to resolve problems of the masses pertaining to delivery of various services by the government and/or its authorities.

The law will provide for setting up the Right to Public Services Commission with the powers of a civil court.

The law binds the officers designated to deliver a public service to accomplish the task within a specific time-frame. The services and their delivery time will be notified by the government. For their failure to do so or faulty service, the officers concerned may be fined by the commission on receiving a complaint. The fine may be up to Rs25,000 but not less than Rs500. Up to 70pc of the fine amount may be given to the complainant if the commission decides so.

However, a filer of a false or frivolous complaint may also face action in the form of fine, which may be up to Rs50,000.

The governor hopes the Punjab Right to Public Service Act will help monitor performance of government officials and improve public services’ delivery.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2019