Civil society and the church in India have hailed a law enforced by the Delhi government that penalizes officials who fail to respond to citizens’ plea within a stipulated time-frame.

The Delhi government September 14 implemented a state law entitling people to compensation for delays in services rendered by 32 city departments and agencies including police, transport and revenue.

“It is a good move, a starting point which will help the common people get their works done in government offices without any delay,” said Father Charles Irudayam, secretary of the Justice, Peace and Development office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

Delhi becomes the first state to have an e-monitoring system where citizens can track their applications and check for delays online.

Sister Jessy Kurian, vice president of the state’s ruling party Congress’ grievance cell, said that it shows that the government is becoming aware of the needs of the people and is interested in their welfare.

The law is a boon to the citizens who earlier had to run from pillar to post to get any services out of these government offices, said Kanchan Das, a young journalist.

She said that, “in order to avoid harassment at the hands of petty clerks, we had to often grease palms.”

Sunandita Dasgupta, a government employee, said that it has to be seen how strictly the law is adhered to. “Its effectiveness would be judged over time,” she said.