Bhubaneswar: In a major push to ensure transparency and time-bound delivery of public services, the Odisha government has introduced strict penal provisions for government officials who fail to process citizen requests within stipulated deadlines.
Under the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the General Administration Department, defaulting officers will face financial penalties deducted directly from their monthly salaries.
The initiatives fall under the purview of the Odisha Right to Public Services Act, 2012, with the rollout of an automated system called the “Auto Appeal System”. Designed to streamline public service delivery, the system eliminates the need for citizens to manually file complaints or make repeated visits to government offices when their applications for income, birth, or resident certificates are delayed. If a designated officer fails to provide a service within the prescribed limit, the application is marked “pending beyond timeline,” converted into an e-appeal with a unique case ID, and automatically escalated to the Appellate Authority. Real-time status updates and automated notifications are dispatched to applicants and officers via SMS, WhatsApp, and email.
Once an application enters the auto-appeal stage, the original designated officer’s dashboard functionality is temporarily disabled, preventing independent processing until the appeal is resolved. The appellate authority then reviews digital records, schedules electronic hearings with at least seven days’ advance notice, and issues a reasoned order within the statutory period. If the Appellate Authority fails to dispose of the appeal within 30 days, the system triggers an automatic escalation to the Revisional Authority, which reviews full system logs and proceedings.
Under the new guidelines, officers held responsible for bureaucratic delays will face a daily fine of Rs 250. The financial penalty can accumulate up to a maximum cap of Rs 5,000 per delayed instance.
To enforce strict compliance and eliminate manual interventions, the penalty collection mechanism has been directly integrated into the government’s HRMS and Treasury systems, allowing automatic salary deductions for non-compliant designated officers.
The General Administration Department has issued the guidelines and SOPs across all state government departments. officials emphasised that the automated appeal system will apply to all services notified under the Right to Public Services Act, establishing clear accountability, designated officer roles, and appellate oversight to prevent unnecessary delays in citizen service delivery.
Plans are afoot to integrate the system with the state’s central monitoring system and the “Ama Saathi” unified WhatsApp bot for enhanced tracking.
