Pune: Notified services not integrated with one-stop Aaple Sarkar portal have affected monitoring of departments serving citizens under the Right to Services Act. While many states have more than 1,000 services notified under the act, the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act (RTS), 2015, pertains to 770 notified services, of which only 470 are integrated with the Aaple Sarkar portal, while 300 are yet to be integrated with it. On the occasion of Independence Day on Thursday, chief minister Eknath Shinde announced a pilot for doorstep services under the act in Kolhapur to be replicated across all districts.
Besides doorstep services, he announced a chatbot, one mode Aaple Sarkar service centre, and QR code for grievances. Most common complaints of citizens have been that services under various departments, including urban development, fisheries, and land records, are mostly affected as their websites are not integrated with Aaple Sarkar portal. “Unless all services are integrated with common portal and there is regular follow up on timeline of services delivered, it is a pointless effort,” said Salome Wagh, a citizen activist.
Regarding the reason behind non-integration of services, the officer said there were some software and technical issues and the process to iron those out had been fast-tracked. “The RTS Act is not drafted in a strong way like Right To Information Act. The Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act is mor.