G AnanthakrishnanChief minister C Joseph Vijay’s pre-election promise of enacting a Right to Services Act within six months of assuming office puts him on a Nov 10 deadline, although it will take longer to fully operationalise it from the time it takes effect. A Vetri Tamil Nadu super app for mobile-based services such as ration cards, driving licenses and grievance filing was also promised.The many reports of raids by the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) on different govt departments, particularly RTOs, revenue and registration, in the past few weeks can be seen as a response to public resentment over entrenched corruption. Yet, it will take serious, rights-based reform going beyond online application filing to make graft-free services a reality. For instance, how does a citizen convince a VAO to validate an online land patta application without a bribe?In 2026, Tamil Nadu is among the few states that does not have even a notional Right to Service law, although one was promised by the DMK in 2021.Two pieces of legislation introduced in Parliament during the UPA govt, The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill and the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, both from 2011, provide a model with a full administrative framework. Parliamentary standing committees proposed further improvements to the bills, but both lapsed after a change in govt. No successor law has been introduced since 2014. Kerala, which originally enacted a right to service law in 2012 with limited impact, introduced an updated one last year. A dozen state laws were brought in, in the Hindi belt 15 years ago led by Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, but without significant results.The requirement for a justiciable law guaranteeing time-bound delivery of services is the publication of a citizen’s charter for each department, public authority or body. They should include, within a couple of months of the law taking effect, all goods and services covered, a checklist of documents needed and the period within which such goods shall be supplied or services rendered.In the Union bills, public authorities were defined as any authority or body or institution of self-govt constituted under the Constitution or by law made by Parliament or a state legislature, to whom applications and complaints could be filed. Govts were mandated to designate as many officers as may be necessary as grievance redress officers in all administrative units or offices at the central, state, district and sub-district levels, municipalities and panchayats for grievance redress. The bill stipulated a 30-day window for the grievance to be redressed, followed by appeals to a designated authority (DA) outside the department. The DA could issue directions, levy penalties on erring officials and order compensation.Although TN introduced some reforms, persisting bottlenecks in revenue, registration and local body departments, the latter issuing licenses and approving buildings, led to a culture of bribery. In the absence of specified time periods, e-applications did not make much difference where discretion existed.The Union bill on e-services said administrative reforms commission had favoured deep changes to achieve e-governance, and to resolve issues such as systemic inertia and legal impediments experienced in electronic delivery of services. The legislation mandated compulsory provision of all public services through electronic means from a specified date. Only those that could not be delivered electronically would be exempt. Reasons for refusal must be recorded and communicated. An oversight mechanism was proposed to ensure implementation and monitoring of the e-services Act, in the form of a state electronic service delivery commission. Officials who failed to abide by legal provisions would invite financial penalties, on the lines of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.The Kerala Right to Public Service Act, 2025, provides a six-month window for departments to notify the services covered, time limit, and designated and appellate authority. All applications have to be acknowledged and rejections must record the cause. Appellate authorities, empowered to levy fines up to Rs 10,000 would have to provide a hearing to the parties regarding a decision. If the service timeline is exceeded, officials have to issue documents.An important citizen service in TN that faces bottlenecks is property registration. In its final months, DMK govt announced an upgraded online workflow, Star 3.0, providing a facility to register documents without having to meet officials in the registration department. It involves authentication based on fingerprint scans and photos for which applicants must have access to scanners and cameras.Reforming document registration system should start with a time-bound right to service and include well-functioning common service centres and document writers who can charge only stipulated fees. But then, there is hesitation among some applicants to adopt remote registrations and electronic documentation because of fear of fraud, although Aadhaar-based verifiability is possible. Popularising Star 3.0 would need govt outreach and wide availability of fingerprint scanners. On the Grievance Redress Bill, the Parliamentary standing committee favoured time limits linked to complexity of service (maximum of 30 days). TVK govt should, to make a Right to Services law effective, consider the efficiency of the RTI apparatus. At the state information commission for RTI, arrears have been piling up, while public information officers are rarely penalised for default. The answer could be to establish a state-level right-to-service commission above the first appellate authorities.Lokayukta in TN with jurisdiction over ministers, MLAs and public servants in graft cases, is governed by rules that stipulate in camera proceedings and prohibit publication of decisions even after inquiry. Nothing is known about what goes on. There is a sharp rise in pending cases before the lokayukta, at 132 in 2025, which is 35% of cases to be disposed of during the year, against 25% pendencies in 2022.The promised Right to Services law will test TVK govt’s appetite for systemic administrative reform.(The writer is a Chennai-based journalist)
