SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Wednesday launched the PSGA auto-appeal system for 103 services offered by various government departments through the eUnnat dashboard. Commissioner Secretary GAD Sanjeev Verma, Commissioner Secretary IT Prerna Puri, and Secretary Revenue Piyush Singla were present during the launch.
The system will automatically trigger an appeal to appellate authorities if the specified time limits under the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA) are breached for any of the services.
Dr Mehta commended the IT Department for integrating this feature into the essential digital services provided by these departments to the citizens. He noted that this feature will be a turning point in ensuring transparency and accountability in service delivery and eliminating corruption.
He emphasized that the auto-escalation feature of online services will put an end to malpractices and promote fairness, which is a priority for the current administration. He reiterated that it will enforce discipline among both public servants and applicants. Any indiscipline or failure to meet service timelines will result in penalties as per the PSGA.
It was revealed that the majority of services belong to departments providing crucial day-to-day services to the public and constitute a significant portion of government-to-citizen (G2C) services. These include 25 services from the Revenue Department, 26 from Industries & Commerce, 19 from Housing & Urban Development, 4 from Social Welfare, 5 from Horticulture, 6 each from Forest and Labour & Employment Departments, 2 each from FCS&CA and Home Departments, 3 from Jal Shakti, and 1 from the Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Department.
During the event, it was highlighted that delivering services online has substantially reduced the waiting period for processing applications. The Revenue, Social Welfare, and Housing Departments have received a large number of applications, and the implementation of the auto-appeal system will benefit numerous people on a daily basis.
Some of the notable services covered by the auto-appeal system include the issuance of category certificates by Tehsildars, such as income, property, character, and legal heir certificates. It also includes attestation of mutations, acquisition of Fard and Revenue Extracts from Tehsil Offices across J&K.
Furthermore, services like issuance of job cards under MGNREGA, obtaining water connections from Jal Shakti, obtaining marriage assistance and financial assistance under Ladli Beti or pensions from the Social Welfare Department, obtaining birth and death certificates, street vending (Rehri) licenses from H&UDD, and obtaining credit cards for artisans and weavers from the Industries and Commerce Department are part of the auto-appeal system launched by the Chief Secretary.
The event was attended by senior officers from the IT Department and scientists from NIC who collaborated to complete this project within the given deadline. (KNO)
