DMK failing ‘right to public service’ poll promise, even as Pinarayi shows the way

CHENNAI: Even as the Kerala Assembly passed the landmark Right to Public Service Bill, 2025, on Thursday, aimed at ensuring the timely and accountable delivery of government services, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu has yet to fulfil its 2021 state election promise to introduce similar legislation.

The Kerala Bill strengthens citizens’ rights to transparent and efficient service delivery. It mandates that if a service is not provided within 30 days, it will be deemed delivered. Officials responsible for delays will face penalties, and all government offices must display the list of services offered, the maximum delivery time, and the appellate authority. The Bill also directs officials to obtain documents from other departments rather than burdening applicants, while all applications, online or otherwise, must be acknowledged with receipts.

In its 2021 election manifesto, the DMK had promised to enact a Right to Services Act to streamline public services, including the issue of community, birth, death and income certificates, residential proofs, and pension benefits.

While outlining the newly elected DMK government’s policy priorities, Governor Banwarilal Purohit, in his address to the first session of the 16th Assembly in June 2021, reaffirmed the commitment, stating that the government will enact the Right to Services Act to streamline the delivery of various public services by government agencies. He further said providing a clean administration was the top priority of the government, and the Lok Ayukta would be revitalised and empowered to deal with complaints against public authorities, including elected representatives and government officials.

However, four years on, the promise remains unfulfilled. Arappor Iyakkam convenor Jayaram Venkatesan said that the government had put the proposal on hold after senior ministers expressed reluctance. “We submitted a draft after consulting citizens and incorporating best practices from other states. Initially, officials said it was under discussion, but later, we were told that senior ministers did not want it. It has now hit a roadblock,” he said.

Explaining the significance of such legislation, he added, “The Right to Services Act is something in which you have the citizen charter for every service provided by government departments. If the citizen charter is not met, citizens will have an avenue to lodge complaints against officials who have failed to deliver the service.

The proposed Right to Service Commission, which we are seeking, must be responsible both for ensuring that citizens get services without paying bribes and for initiating penalties against erring officials.”

He said the law was essential to curb corruption in everyday government services ranging from land patta and plan approvals to legal heir and community certificates. “This Act is a basic necessity in a democracy. It ensures accountability, penalises officials for delays, and eliminates bribery. But in Tamil Nadu, transparency and accountability reforms, including strengthening the Lokayukta, making the DVAC independent, and enacting the Right to Services Act, have all been stalled,” he observed.

He noted that despite the government’s claims of good governance through schemes such as Ungaludan Stalin, which aims to improve public service delivery and citizen interaction with departments, the ground reality remains unchanged. “The government has not realised that people are struggling for months and years to get basic services. The foundation of this problem is bribery and a lack of accountability. A Right to Services Act would have been the structural solution to these everyday grievances,” he said.

While 22 States and several Union Territories, including Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, have already implemented similar Acts, Tamil Nadu continues to lag in institutionalising citizen-centric governance.