Citizen Charter makes public services easier to commoners

Despite limitations, the Citizen Charter (CC) has infused dynamism into public service delivery ensuring transparency and accountability in government organisations as it helps people get information about the services.

Experts and academics opined that introduction of the citizen charter has also contributed to ensuring the right to information as it accelerates service delivery than earlier.

Karimul Islam Raju has found the path of becoming a competent freelancer since he got the information about web design from a CC of Technical Training Centre (TTC) at Kasiadanga crossing in Rajshahi city a couple of years back.

Since then, he has learnt about different aspects of the web design course, including HTML5, CSS3 and JAVAScript, through using his desktop and Smartphone.

Simultaneously, Raju, a first year intermediate student of Sirajuddowla Degree College and resident of Kasiadanga area in the city, is involved in outsourcing works and earned around Taka one 1.5 lakh so far.

He got admitted to a three-month course in the TTC Rajshahi early this year and he’s learning about the key issues for web page development.

Like Raju, many other youths enrolled there after getting information from the CC, said Engineer Rezaul Karim, an instructor of TTC.

Tarima Khatun, 19, a resident of Kamargaon village under Tanore Upazila, said she availed the services of antenatal care (ANC), postnatal care (PNC) and neonatal care along with necessary medicines like Iron and calcium tables and advice from Kamargaon Community Clinic after getting necessary information from its CC.

Many other grassroots people, including expectant mothers, have got scopes of getting health services according to the CC. Health service providers are also seen giving their services accordingly.

Marium Akhter Shelli, a field facilitator of Public Health Improvement Initiative Rajshahi (PHIIR) Project, said people, particularly women, are getting primary healthcare services by following CC in Sapahar Upazila of Naogaon district.

Another field facilitator Mamunur Rashid said they are talking about the benefits of CC in Charghat Upazila where service providers are keeping CC in their facility and trying to provide the desired health services.

They are also discussing with the deserving mothers so that they can get ANC, PNC and neonatal care according to the citizen charter.

Tozammel Haque, Manager of PHIIR, a recently phased-out project of DASCOH Foundation, said CC is available at 110 Community Clinics, 37 Union level primary healthcare facilities and five Upazila Health Complexes in the project working area.

The citizen charter is being kept hanging at comparatively visible places of the respective facilities, he said.

“We have been getting services in a hustle-free atmosphere from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Rajshahi since the inception of CC,” said Moshiur Rahman, a teacher of Dublagari Degree College at Shahjahanpur in Bogura.

Chairman of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Rajshahi, Prof Oliul Alam said they have included 41 types of services in CC and made those public in big projection boards.

Anyone can see all of the service related information at a glance and seek those from the designated officials, he added.

Scores of people come from far-flung areas to the board every working day and they derive total benefits of the CC in getting their services in a hustle-free manner.

A.T.M. Abdullahel Baki, Deputy Director of Regional Public Administration Training Centre, said they have imparted training to 74 officials and other staff concerned for boosting their awareness about the importance of CC.

He said information is a very important element both for service providers and service recipients as service delivery creates relationships between public administration and citizens.

Prof Shafiul Islam from the Department of Public Administration in Rajshahi University (RU) said there are more other works to be done for sufficient use of the CC because it has many positive impacts on accelerating the public services.

The citizen charter can be treated as a self-explained document to ensure better public services and a vibrant tool to expedite better services to recipients, he said. (BSS)