The Punjab Anti-Red Tape Act, 2018

 • The Congress government is all set to bring in “The Punjab Anti-Red Tape Act, 2018”, which aims at providing services to people within a stipulated time frame. This is for the first time that a law to curb red tape in governance has been drafted.
• The idea is to promote integrity and accountability and establish effective practices aimed at preventing corruption.
• The act provides for the suspension of officials who fail to deliver a service to citizens; binds government departments to deliver any service asked for by a citizen within seven to 15 days; and recommends that touts/middlemen be fined anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 2 lakh.
• Another key feature of the Act is the deemed extension of permits and licences in case the government department issuing these fails to act on the application for extension within the stipulated time frame.

By: Dr. Vivek Rana