New citizen services in Punjab

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday finalised the setting-up of kiosks to facilitate the masses by provisioning 200 citizen-centric services and fixed a timeline to make the system operational before July 2015. At present, 149 services have been provided under the Right to Service Act.

Reviewing the ongoing e-governance and e-district projects, Badal asserted that from next July, the people of Punjab would get their required services not in-line but online. He asked Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal to expedite the process of setting up Unified Service Delivery Centres in the state, which would become operational before the given timeline.

He said the existing Fard, Saanjh and Suvidha Kendras would be clubbed with these centres for delivery of Governance to Government (G to G) and Government to Citizen (G to C) services. He added that next July, Punjab would become the first state in the country to implement 200 citizen services under Right to Service Act and 100 per cent e-governance and e-district projects.

While examining the layout of these centres and infrastructure, Badal directed Principal Secretary Governance Reforms, C Roul to divide cities into different clusters for setting up these centers. He said that there should be three-four state-of-the-art citizen facilitation centers in each city at approachable distances with easy access to the public.

Badal said there should be back-end computerisation and digitalisation of all services in all departments before the given target. He said that this system would enable Punjab to become an online state.