Chandigarh, August 7– The Haryana Right to Service Commission has recommended disciplinary action against officials of the Urban Local Bodies Department for negligence in addressing a complaint. The Commission has imposed a penalty on one official, recommended departmental proceeding against another, and issued an advisory to a third for future conduct.
Sharing more details, a spokesperson of the Commission informed that during the investigation, it was found that the concerned Junior Engineer (Urban Local Bodies Department) had wrongly stated that the work of the streetlight was beyond repair, even though it was later repaired. This clearly indicated that the repair was possible earlier and could have been completed within the stipulated timeframe. Additionally, the photograph uploaded on the portal did not match the one submitted by the complainant. For failing to deliver the service on time and negligence in duty, the Commission has imposed a token penalty of Rs. 5,000 under Section 17(1)(h) of the Act on the Junior Engineer. This amount will be deducted from the August salary and deposited in the state treasury.
The Spokesperson said that the District Municipal Commissioner, Jhajjar has also been directed to submit a compliance report to the Commission by September 10.
In the same case, the First Grievance Redressal Authority-cum-Municipal Engineer (Urban Local Bodies Department) dismissed the appeal solely on the grounds that the complainant was not present during the hearing, despite the service not being delivered. The Commission clarified that this approach was an attempt to evade responsibility to resolve the complaint. The Act requires that appeal decisions be made based on facts. Considering this a serious lapse, the Commission has recommended to the State Government appropriate departmental proceedings against the said officer under Section 17(1)(d) of the Act. The Commissioner and Secretary of the Urban Local Bodies Department must inform the Commission of the action taken within 30 days.
Furthermore, the Commission clarified that during the said period, the post of District Municipal Commissioner in Jhajjar was vacant, and the duties were being performed by a link officer. The Commission observed that the link officer, acting as the Second Grievance Redressal Authority under the Haryana Right to Service Act, did not treat the matter with the required seriousness. The investigation also found that the officer was handling other major responsibilities simultaneously. Taking this into consideration, the Commission issued an advisory for the future, directing that even while discharging duties as a link officer, responsibilities under the Haryana Right to Service Act should be taken seriously. This advisory has been issued unilaterally, and the concerned officer is free to file a review petition before the Commission.
