Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has introduced a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for implementing and operationalising the Auto-Appeal System (AAS) under the Odisha Right to Public Services Act, 2012, in a move aimed at ensuring timely delivery of notified government services.
The new guidelines, issued by the General Administration Department, seek to make government officials more accountable when public services are not delivered within the prescribed time limit.
Cases to Automatically Move to Appeal Stage
Under the new system, a citizen’s application will automatically move to the appeal process if the requested service is not delivered within the stipulated timeframe.
The Auto-Appeal System is intended to reduce unnecessary delays and ensure that citizens do not have to separately initiate an appeal when an official fails to provide a notified service within the prescribed period.
The government expects the mechanism to make public service delivery more transparent, accountable and efficient.
Officers May Face Penalty of Up to Rs 5,000
The new SOP also introduces a financial penalty for officials responsible for delays.
A penalty of Rs 250 per day may be imposed on the officer concerned for failing to deliver a service within the prescribed timeframe. The total penalty, however, will be capped at Rs 5,000.
A notable feature of the new mechanism is that the penalty may be recovered directly from the concerned officer’s salary.
HRMS and Treasury Systems to Be Linked
To facilitate the recovery process, the penalty mechanism will be linked with the government’s Human Resources Management System (HRMS) and Treasury system.
This integration is expected to streamline the process of identifying responsible officials and recovering penalties without requiring a separate manual procedure.
The move also seeks to establish clear responsibility whenever government departments fail to meet the timelines prescribed for citizen services.
Departments Asked to Implement SOP Immediately
The General Administration Department has circulated the SOP to all government departments and instructed them to communicate the guidelines to officers and staff under their respective administrative jurisdictions.
A senior government official said the SOP has been prepared to standardise the workflow, ensure compliance and streamline the implementation of the Auto-Appeal System.
The department has directed all concerned authorities to implement the guidelines with immediate effect.
The new system is expected to strengthen Odisha’s public service delivery mechanism by ensuring that delays automatically trigger an appeal process and that accountability rests with officials responsible for failing to meet prescribed deadlines.
