Para 64 — CSMOP
Original Rule Text
# 64. Citizen’s/Client’s
CharterCitizen‟s/Client‟s Charter are required to be maintained by all the Ministries/Departments/Offices of the Government of India and the State/Union Territory Governments also and prominently display it on the Website, on a Notice Board of the Information Facilitation Centre. Citizen‟s Charter is a document which represents a systematic effort to focus on the commitments of the Organization towards its Citizens in respect of the Standards of services, information, choice & consultation, non-discrimination & accessibility, redress courtesy and value for money. It is also said as a tool for facilitating delivery of services to citizens with specified standards, quality and time frame etc. with commitments of the organization towards its clients.
A good Citizen‟s Charter should have the following components:-
(i) Vision and Mission Statement of the Organization.
(ii) Details of the Business transacted by the Organization.
(iii) Details of „Citizens‟ or „Clients‟
(iv) Statement of service including standards, quality, time frame etc. p54rovided to each Citizen/Client group separately and how/where to get the services.
(v) Details of Grievance Redress Mechanism and how to access it.
(vi) Expectations from the „Citizens‟ or „Clients‟.
(vii) Additional commitments such as compensation in the event of failure of service delivery.
The format for preparing Citizen Charter is available on the SEVOTTAM Manual of the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (www.darpg.in).
What This Means
Para 64 requires all Ministries, Departments, and Offices of the Central Government — as well as State and UT governments — to maintain and prominently display a Citizen's Charter. The Charter must be shown on the Ministry's website, on the notice board of the Information Facilitation Centre, and in other accessible places. It is a public commitment document.
The Citizen's Charter is a systematic, formal declaration of what the organisation commits to deliver to citizens: what services it provides, to what standard, in what timeframe, and how complaints and grievances can be raised. It tells citizens what they can expect and what they can do if those expectations are not met. It is also a tool for internal accountability — staff should measure their work against the Charter's commitments.
The para lists seven components a good Citizen's Charter must have: vision and mission, details of the business transacted, details of the citizens/clients served, service standards (quality, time, access), grievance redress mechanism, expectations from citizens, and additional commitments such as compensation for service failure. The SEVOTTAM Manual on the DARPG website provides the format.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Every Ministry, Department, and Office must maintain a Citizen's Charter.
- 2The Charter must be prominently displayed on the website and at the Information Facilitation Centre.
- 3A Citizen's Charter contains seven components: vision/mission, business details, client details, service standards, grievance mechanism, citizen expectations, and additional commitments including compensation.
- 4It is both a public commitment and an internal performance benchmark.
- 5The SEVOTTAM Manual on DARPG's website provides the standard format.
- 6State and UT governments are also covered by this requirement.
Practical Example
A Section Officer in the Ministry of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare reviews the Ministry's Citizen's Charter during a departmental review. She finds that the Charter promises pension payment within 30 days of retirement, but the Section's current average processing time is 45 days. She raises this in the next review meeting: the Charter's commitment is not being met and must either be improved operationally or revised to reflect realistic timelines. This gap between Charter commitment and actual performance — if left unaddressed — creates public trust issues. The Section implements a process improvement and updates the Charter on the website to reflect the revised commitment while work continues to bring average time down to 30 days.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.