Powers, Responsibilities, and Functions of the State Government under the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015
The State Government, referred to as “Government” in the Act, holds overarching authority and responsibility for the effective implementation, oversight, and enforcement of the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015. It plays a pivotal role in enabling transparent, efficient, and time-bound delivery of public services across all Public Authorities in Maharashtra. The Act empowers the State Government to issue general or special directions in writing to any Public Authority for the purpose of effective implementation, as provided under Section 21. This includes guiding departments on notification processes, procedural improvements, or compliance measures to ensure the Act’s objectives are met. The Government is also responsible for constituting the Maharashtra State Commission for Right to Services under Section 13(1) by notification in the Official Gazette, appointing the Chief Commissioner and Commissioners through a high-level committee, and providing necessary staff, infrastructure, and administrative support for the Commission’s functioning. Until the Commission is fully constituted, the Government can entrust its powers and functions to Divisional Commissioners or other officers on an interim basis. Additionally, the State Government has the authority to extend stipulated time limits for notified services during elections or natural calamities, as prescribed under Section 4(2), to accommodate extraordinary circumstances without undermining citizen rights.
The State Government bears key responsibilities in promoting and monitoring the Act’s implementation. It must act on the recommendations made by the Maharashtra State Commission under Section 17, considering suggestions for better delivery of public services, procedural changes, departmental inquiries, or systemic improvements, and inform the Commission of actions taken within 30 days or an agreed period. This ensures that Commission insights lead to tangible enhancements in governance and service delivery. The Government receives and lays before the State Legislature the annual report prepared by the Commission on its operations and the evaluation of public service delivery, as mandated under Section 19, fostering legislative oversight and public accountability. It is also empowered to make rules under Section 23 to prescribe forms, fees, procedures for appeals, penalties, and other matters required for carrying out the Act’s provisions, enabling flexible and practical administration. Furthermore, the Government defines or notifies aspects like revised penalty amounts, if any, and supports mechanisms such as training, incentives, and e-governance initiatives indirectly through its directional powers.
Overall, the State’s functions emphasize facilitation, supervision, and enforcement to achieve the Act’s core goal of guaranteeing citizens’ right to timely services. By notifying public services, though primarily done by Public Authorities under Section 3, providing resources to the Commission, issuing directions, acting on recommendations, and ensuring rule-making, the Government creates a robust framework for accountability, reduces delays and corruption, and strengthens citizen-centric governance. These powers and duties are designed to make the Act operational across departments, local bodies, and other Public Authorities, with the Government acting as the ultimate custodian of the legislation’s spirit and effectiveness. In practice, this has led to widespread online portals like Aaple Sarkar, and service notifications, demonstrating the State’s proactive role in implementation.
Difficulty In Implementation
The Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015, while well-intentioned in aiming to guarantee time-bound, transparent delivery of public services, faces significant practical difficulties in implementation that undermine its effectiveness and render it challenging to enforce meaningfully across the state.
Low Public Awareness
One major criticism is the low public awareness of the Act, its notified services, the Aaple Sarkar portal, and the grievance redressal mechanisms, including appeals to appellate authorities and the State Commission. Despite years of operation, a substantial portion of citizens, especially in rural or less digitally connected areas, remain unaware of their entitlements or how to file appeals, leading to under-utilization of the law and limited pressure on officials to comply. This awareness gap is repeatedly highlighted as a persistent key challenge by the Commission itself and in media reports.
Incomplete Digitization and Integration of Services
Another core implementation hurdle is the incomplete digitization and integration of services on the unified Aaple Sarkar portal. Even a decade after enactment, a significant percentage, around 43% in recent reports, of notified services remain offline, not integrated, or plagued by technical issues such as poor user interface, server problems, slow uploads, non-responsive helplines, and difficulties in document submission. This defeats the Act’s emphasis on e-governance for efficiency and accessibility, resulting in continued reliance on manual, delay-prone processes and frustrating applicants who face repeated technical barriers.
Weak Enforcement of Penalties
The enforcement of penalties remains weak and difficult in practice. Although the Act prescribes fines of ₹500–₹5,000 on erring Designated Officers and potentially on First Appellate Authorities, recovery often proves cumbersome, and many officers reportedly view these modest financial penalties as negligible compared to the fear of disciplinary action or transfers. Bureaucratic resistance, evident since the law’s ordinance stage, has led to conscious efforts to sideline stricter accountability provisions, with actual realization of penalties being rare and repeated defaults not always triggering swift disciplinary proceedings under Section 12. This dilutes deterrence and allows chronic delays or non-compliance to persist without strong consequences.
Multi-Tiered Appeal System
The multi-tiered appeal system comprising of First Appellate, Second Appellate, and State Commission, creates procedural complexity and potential for further delays. Applicants frequently report non-responses from appellate authorities, ignored follow-ups (even with evidence like screenshots), and slow disposal despite statutory timelines, 30–90 days at lower levels, 90 days at Commission. In some cases, the system’s hierarchical nature allows erring officers to be protected or delays to compound, reducing trust and discouraging citizens from pursuing remedies.
Incomplete Notification of Services
Additionally, incomplete notification of services by various departments, even after ten years, limits the Act’s coverage. Some departments are still in the process of notifying services, and audits, including CAG observations, have pointed to pending applications, delays despite fee collection, and unsatisfactory performance at service delivery points like Aaple Sarkar Kendras, where 45% were found non-compliant in one report. This piecemeal approach fragments implementation and leaves many essential citizen services outside the enforceable framework.
Conclusion
Overall, while the Act has achieved partial success e.g., around 82% timely processing in reported data, its ambitious structure clashes with entrenched bureaucratic inertia, inadequate infrastructure, low citizen engagement, and weak punitive follow-through. These factors make full-scale, consistent implementation difficult, often reducing the law to a symbolic rather than transformative tool for accountability in Maharashtra’s public administration. Strengthening awareness campaigns, mandating complete digitization with penalties for non-integration, enhancing penalty recovery mechanisms, and streamlining appeals could help, but without addressing these systemic bottlenecks, the Act struggles to deliver on its promise of efficient, citizen-centric governance.
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References:
1. The Maharashtra Right To Public Service Act, 2015
2. The Maharashtra Right To Public Service Rules, 2015
3. “Standard Operating Procedure for issue of licenses/permits, payment of dues under Ease of Doing Business initiative” Government of Maharashtra Urban Development Department. Government Resolution No:- Sankeerna-2019/Pra. Kra. 180/Navi-20 Mantralaya, Mumbai – 400 032 Date: 14 August, 2019.
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5. “Recovery / waiver of the wrongful / excess payments made to Government servants.” Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Personnel & Training
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