-------------------------------------------------------------- Do GOACAN a favour, circulate this email to your family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Help other CITIZENS to be better informed. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN wants a Website and Citizen Charter for every Village Panchayat, writes to Director of Panchayats ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOACAN has called upon the Directorate of Panchayats to ensure that the task of getting all Village Panchayats in Goa to have their own website and Citizen Charter be completed in a time bound manner. In a letter to the Director, Shri Narayan Gad, GOACAN has pointed out that a large number of Village Panchayats in Goa have still not yet launched their websites and have not yet prepared their Citizen Charter. It may be recalled that the Goa State Information Commission (GSIC) in its Order had directed the Director of Panchayats to ensure that each and every Village Panchayat has a well formatted and user-friendly website displaying all information held with the public authority in the public domain while also taking steps to implement section 4(1) (a) and 4(1) (b) more so, inview of the Order passed by the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay at Goa in Writ Petition No. 42/2019 as this in turn will help reduce RTI applications and also lead to better transparency, accountability and openness of governance. GOACAN has stated that today as Goa has to deal with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Govt is working on a Economic Revival Plan which will help the 191 Panchayats to make their villages self-reliant, the setting up of a Website and the preparation of a Citizen Charter for each Panchayat would be the appropriate step to be taken. Moreover the Website & Citizen Charter could provide the required boost for the effective functioning of the Village Development Committee (VDC), Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC),Village Child Committee (VCC) and the Road Safety & Traffic Management Committee (RSTMC) of the Panchayat. In terms of linkages the Website & Citizen Charter could also help bring the Departments of Social Welfare, Women & Child Development, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services closer to their beneficiaries in the village. GOACAN has recommended that the Directorate of Panchayats appoints a Nodal Officer to take this task ahead by coordinating with GIPARD and the Depts. of Information Technology, Public Grievances, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs. The Nodal Officer could also provide guidance to the Pachayats on financial assistance, design and content for the Website & Citizen Charter. GOACAN has pointed out that the issue of updating the Citizen Charter & Website of Govt. Depts was also highlighted at the meeting of the State Consumer Protection Council held at the Secretariat, Alto Porvorim in November 2019 which was chaired by Shri Govind Gaude Hon. Minister for Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs. GOACAN has also requested that the Directorate of Panchayats begin this whole exercise by first updating its own Citizen Charter: http://panchayatsgoa.gov.in/uploads/Charter_Latest.pdf http://www.panchayatsgoa.gov.in/1227596995CITIZEN_CHARTER.pdf and website http://www.panchayatsgoa.gov.in/ so that its new look can be ready by 15th August 2020. Copies of the GOACAN letter have been sent to the Chief Secretary, Secretaries Panchayats, Public Grievances, GAD and Civil Supplies, respective Additional Collectors, Director General GIPARD and Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Complaints Cell Post Box 187 Margao, Goa 403 601 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Complaints Cell Post Box 78 Mapusa, Goa 403 507 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- mail to: [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
