WB Govt. services not processed within time? Officials will face show-cause notices
A response is mandatory within 15 days, failure to provide a satisfactory answer, will lead to action under service rules. This is a strict directive from Chief Secretary of West Bengal Manoj Kumar Agrawal.
Ordinary citizens will no longer have to make repeated visits to government offices to access public services. The state government has now decided to take direct action against officials who fail to process service-related applications within a stipulated timeframe. It is not enough for an application to be approved or for a service to be automatically deemed granted once the deadline has passed, the official concerned must also provide an explanation as to why the application could not be processed within the prescribed time.
West Bengal State Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Agrawal has issued strict guidelines in this regard.
According to the directive issued by the Chief Secretary on 11th November 2026, if an application for any certificate, approval, permission, or license is considered ‘deemed granted’ meaning it is automatically approved because it was not processed within the stipulated timeframe. The head of the concerned department must issue a show-cause notice to the official responsible. This notice will seek an explanation as to why the application could not be processed within the prescribed time limit.
Simply issuing a show-cause notice is not enough. The official concerned must submit a response within 15 days of receiving the notice. Once this explanation has been reviewed, appropriate action will be taken against the official in accordance with the applicable service rules. In other words, the responsibility for failing to provide government services within the stipulated timeframe will now also rest with the official concerned.
That is not all. Every month, all departments must submit a comprehensive report detailing the number of applications that were ‘deemed granted’ during the preceding month. This report must also include specific information regarding which officials were issued a ‘show-cause’ notice and what actions were subsequently taken against them. Submission of this report by the 10th of each month has been made mandatory.
The Chief Secretary has issued a directive to strictly adhere to the time limits specified for the delivery of various services under the West Bengal Right to Public Services Act, 2013. The head of each department must conduct regular reviews to ensure that these prescribed time limits are being duly followed.
According to administrative circles, the major challenge beyond merely setting time limits for the delivery of government services has been to ensure accountability for past delays. Now, Nabanna (the state secretariat) intends to fix this responsibility and hold the concerned officials accountable. It has also been directed that the guidelines be implemented immediately. Consequently, it is clear that administrative pressure on officials regarding the neglect or pendency of applications for government services has increased significantly.
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