Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mandeep Singh Sandhu as the new...

Chandigarh, August 23: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mandeep Singh Sandhu as the new Chief Commissioner of the state’s Transparency & Accountability Commission.  The appointment of Sandhu, a former Additional Chief Secretary, will bring about greater transparency and efficiency in the delivery of citizen-centric services, in line with the state government’s increased focus on governance reforms, said an official spokesperson.  

Capt Amarinder Singh

Additional Chief Secretary Governance Reforms N.S. Kalsi conducted the proceedings of the oath taking ceremony.  While administering the oath to Sandhu, the Chief Minister asked him to accord top priority to the prompt redressal of the public grievances by ensuring these services in a seamless and time-bound manner.  The Captain Amarinder Singh led state government had enacted the new legislation - the Punjab Transparency and Accountability Act – after repealing Punjab Right to Service (RTS) Act, 2011.

The new legislation was aimed at overcoming the shortcomings and weaknesses in the RTS and enabling backend computerization of public services, online receipt of service requests as a mandatory provision, and electronic delivery of services to citizens in stipulated time frame.   Prominent amongst those present on the occasion were CM’s Media Advisor Raveen Thukral, Advocate General Atul Nanda, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Suresh Kumar besides Sandhu’s family members including his wife Navraj Sandhu, who is Additional Chief Secretary in Haryana Government, daughter Divneet Sandhu and son Manraj Singh Sandhu.