Chandigarh: Admn set to rationalise regulatory norms

Chandigarh adviser directed all officials to take necessary steps to make interface with business and citizens simple and transparent

The Chandigarh administration is set to give a major overhaul to the UT’s governance process by simplifying rules, laws, procedures and different sets of compliances.

The Chandigarh administration has consistently failed to deliver on ease of doing business.

The process will need a thorough scrutiny of various legislations, regulations, administrative processes and procedural requirements. In view of this, UT adviser Dharam Pal on Wednesday chaired a meeting with all administrative secretaries and heads of departments in attendance. The aim was to examine the relevance and rationale of various compliances, and to rationalise and simplify them.

“The burdensome regulatory compliance adds unnecessary procedure, time and cost for citizens/business that hinders the overall ease of living and doing business. These compliances become no longer relevant due to innovative practices and economic developments,” said Pal.

The adviser directed all officials to take necessary steps to make government to business and government to citizen interface simple and transparent.

According to the adviser’s directions, the reforms process involves four steps.

According to the adviser’s directions, the reforms process involves four steps. After exhaustive analysis of various legislations, rules, regulations, schemes, grants and subsidies, officials will have to conduct stakeholder consultation to identify burdensome aspects of different compliances.

In addition to it, steps will be taken to decriminalise acts and provisions in case of minor civil offences, while redundant laws will be repealed, amended or subsumed.

The bureaucracy dominated Chandigarh administration has consistently failed to deliver on ease of doing business. For the second year running, the UT was at the bottom of the ease of doing business rankings in 2020.

Of the 187 reform points under the rankings, Chandigarh implemented only nine. There was no action on the rest of the 178. According to the report, reforms were implemented in some areas falling under the reform heads of access to information, obtaining electricity connection, and environment. However, the performance or quality of implementation was “not good”.