Centre Asks Bureaucrats To Answer Letters From Elected Representatives Properly & Promptly

The Union government has directed officials that elected representatives are not to be kept waiting.  The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has instructed ministries, departments, state governments and Union Territory administrations to follow “proper procedure” while dealing with communications from elected representatives. 
 
The DoPT guidelines have warned against bureaucratic delays in dealing with letters by Members of Parliament and state legislators. 

The instructions underlined that letters and representations from MPs and MLAs must be handled promptly and through the appropriate channel. It has been made explicitly clear that “dilatory tactics” will not be tolerated. The DoPT has stressed that delays in responding to such correspondence are unacceptable and undermine the spirit of democratic accountability.

"If a communication from an MP is addressed to a minister, the reply must come from the minister concerned, and it should not be delegated downward," the guidelines said.

The DoPT has also frowned upon the routine use of pre-printed or standardised replies to MPs. "Information sought by a member should ordinarily be supplied unless it is of such a nature that it would have been denied even if raised on the floor of Parliament. In other words, stock phrases and vague assurances are no substitute for substantive answers," it added.

It has also been directed that communication from an MP, a member of the public, a recognised association or a public body must be acknowledged within 15 days, followed by a substantive reply within the next 15 days. 

"Where a request cannot be acceded to, the reasons must be conveyed “courteously”, signalling that tone matters as much as content," it added.

If a delay is unavoidable, officials are required to send an interim reply within 15 days, clearly indicating when a final response can be expected. Communications wrongly addressed to a department must be transferred to the appropriate division within five working days, with the sender informed of the transfer.

The DoPT has also advised officials to look at requests from members of the public from the “user’s point of view” rather than purely from what is administratively convenient.