The disposal rate of applications under the Right to Service (RTS) framework has been steadily declining over the years, even as the number of applications received have gone up, a report released by administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday released. This comes at a time when the administration is looking to bring more services under the framework for the benefit of residents.
The RTS, extended to Chandigarh through a Ministry of Home Affairs notification dated August 14, 2017, is aimed at providing residents a time-bound mechanism to obtain notified government services, and reduce uncertainty and repeated visits to government offices. Over 556 public services across more than 35 departments, ranging from issuance of birth and death certificates to no-objection certificates for property transfer and even permits for film shoots are covered under this. In case, the service isn’t delivered within the stipulated time, a resident can file a first appeal within 30 days. If the service is still not delivered, the second appellate authority can impose a penalty ranging from ₹500 to ₹5,000 on the responsible official and recommend disciplinary action.
To oversee the implementation of the framework, the Chandigarh Right to Service Commission was constituted in January 2018.
According to commission’s annual report, which Kataria released on Thursday, the disposal rate of applications has dropped from 97% in 2020-21 to 82% in 2025-26 (see box).
The number of applications received, meanwhile, went up. In 2020-21, over 9 lakh applications had been received while in 2022-23, it climbed to 13 lakh and further to 16 lakh in 2024-25. In 2025-26, 15 lakh applications were received while 12 lakh were disposed of.
According to the latest data, the police, registering and licensing authority (RLA), Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU), municipal corporation (MC) and deputy commissioner (DC)’s office made for the top five departments in terms of the volume of applications received in 2025-26. Together, they received 65% of the total RTS applications received in the year.
The DC office also had the highest backlog (over 1 lakh) at the start of the financial year in contrast to the CTU, which had a zero backlog. The RLA too figured among the better performing departments with just two pending applications from the previous year.
The commission has identified lack of awareness among citizens, an inconvenient procedure for filing and tracking appeals and the absence of an IT-enabled platform for filing appeals as some of the challenges affecting implementation. Mahavir Singh, chief commissioner, in the presentation, also highlighted the implementation of the auto appeal service (portal) as the “real crux” for strengthening the system. The system, borrowed from Haryana, automatically escalates appeals to higher authorities if services are not delivered within the stipulated time frame.
Kataria, while releasing the report, stressed the need to strengthen the RTS mechanism and directed departments to bring the remaining 124 offline services online. The health & family welfare department has the most offline services – 37 out of 48 notified ones. It is followed by police (15), MC (14), DC office(10), directorate of school education(8), estate office(7), among others.
Sheetal is a senior correspondent with Hindustan Times with over seven years of reporting experience. She currently covers the Mohali administration, including the Municipal Corporation Mohali, municipal councils across SAS Nagar district, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), political parties, Chandigarh International Airport, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and other key civic, urban development and infrastructure beats. Her reporting focuses on governance, land acquisition, urban planning, public infrastructure, environmental issues and local politics, with an emphasis on stories that shape public policy and impact everyday life. Previously, she covered the crime beat, reporting on policing, cybercrime and criminal investigations across the Tricity. She has also covered lifestyle and entertainment, reporting on arts, culture, fashion, food and events. Her diverse reporting experience enables her to track complex civic, governance and law enforcement issues with depth and context.Read More