& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Citizens' charter vital for both private, public sectors: Zillur

Staff Correspondent
Education and Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman yesterday said a citizens' charter is imperative for both private and public sectors, for improving the overall quality of services to the people.
Almost all ministries, a number of government departments, and deputy commissioners' offices already prepared charters of their services last year.
EchoingZillur, former adviser to the caretaker government Advocate Sultana Kamal said people sometimes become captive to service providers in both public and private sectors.
The remarks came from a seminar on: What is citizens' charter — why and how, jointly organised by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) in Brae Center Inn of the capital.
Citizens' charter is an expression of understanding between citizens and providers of services with respect to the quantity and quality of services citizens receive in exchange for taxes or fees, according to a keynote presented at the seminar.
The purpose of citizens' charter is to continuously improve the quality of public and private services for the people of the country so that the services cater to the needs and wishes of the consumers, it said.
In the keynote paper MJF Programme Manager Arif H Khan said it was good that the government voluntarily took the initiative, but there are many flaws in the charters.
He said public participation was not ensured in die process of preparing the charters. There is also neither any regulatory body for monitoring the implementation of the charters, nor for training the officials, he added.
The charters were prepared by some committees of the ministries, but a common understanding on the matter is absent, he said.
There are instructions in the charters about lodging complaints, but no direction for how the claims will be settled, Arif Hossain said.
Speaking as the chief guest, Hossain Zillur said, "There is a lack of quality service not only in the public sector, but also in the private sector. There are banks and telecom companies making unusual amounts of profit."
Therefore, both sectors should be brought under the focus of such a charter, he said adding, "The form of it, however, has to be set."
Stressing on specifying the standards of services in the charter in the local context, the adviser said, "If the matter is downplayed, then such a charter will ultimately not work."
Stating that the concept of citizens' charter is wry much linked to democracy, he said quality services also depend on the development of
public awareness. He observed that the culture of negligence in providing services will not change unless both service providers and consumers equally change their attitudes.
Advocate Sultana Kamal said there are private companies, which do not keep their pledge of services.
"Companies must provide the services they promise," Sultana Kamal, also a trustee ofTIB, said.
Professor Salauddin M Alimuzzaman of Dhaka University recommended setting up uniform standards for services in the citizens' charter, and vigorous propagation of those including in textbooks.
Establishment Secretary Abdus Salam Khan said having the charters of sendees in many ministries and departments has already started yielding results.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Prof Dilara Chowdhury, and former ambassador Wali ur Rahman also spoke at the seminar moderated by MJF Executive Directo r Shaheen An am.