LAHORE: Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Chairman Faisal Yousaf has said that by the end of this year, more government services will be added to “Maryam Ki Dastak,” an online government services platform, and the ambit of services will cover the entire province.
“The Dastak initiative covers 20 different government services and we plan to add more services in phases, targeting a total of 65 services by the end of 2024. This phased approach allows us to scale up gradually while ensuring the quality and reliability of the services provided,” he said while talking to the Business Recorder here on Thursday.
Presently, the Dastak offers different government services, including birth certificates, copies of FIR, marriage certificates, renewal of learner driving licence, transfer of motor vehicle ownership, duplicate driving license, property tax, safe city challan, domicile, general police verification, token tax, renewal of regular driving license, e-stamping, learner driving licence, divorce certificate, tenant registration, new vehicle registration, police character certificate, death certificate and renewal of international driving licence.
He averred that at present, these services are initially available in Lahore and will be expanded to the entire province in due course; “we also aim to expand the ambit of services to cover the entire province by the end of 2024.”
On the direction of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the PITB recently launched the “Maryam Ke Dastak.”
This initiative aims at revolutionising the service delivery model by bringing government services directly to citizens’ doorsteps via carefully selected and trained Dastak facilitators.
Elaborating on the need for this initiative, the PITB chairman pointed out that Punjab has a population of 120 million, and it is a massive challenge to serve them adequately.
“People face many different challenges while securing government services; issues like long queues, multiple visits to the offices, lack of accurate information leads to frustration. Moreover, increasing fuel prices have also compounded the misery of people underscoring the need to devise a modern mechanism to significantly improve public service delivery. The main inspiration behind Dastak is to enhance accessibility and convenience for citizens; our goal is to bring essential government services directly to the citizens’ doorstep, particularly focusing on the elderly, women, physically specially-abled people and others who find it difficult to visit a government office due to any limitations or time constraints,” he added.
According to him, the existing service delivery model has several significant drawbacks. Citizens often have to make multiple visits to government offices, endure long queues and deal with inconsistent information. Additionally, the presence of commission agent mafias exploiting the system has been a persistent problem. This initiative seeks to eliminate these issues by providing a streamlined, transparent, and efficient service delivery method.
“The benefits of Dastak are manifold; this initiative aims to save their time and money. It also improves their accessibility and convenience, especially for those who are physically disadvantaged. For government operations, it reduces the workload on government offices, thereby increasing efficiency. Furthermore, it enhances transparency, reducing opportunities for corruption, and ultimately leads to increased citizen satisfaction and trust in government services,” he said.
Talking about the process of availing the services on Dastak, he said that it is straightforward and user-friendly; citizens need to download the smartphone application from an app store. “They will then create a profile and log in. After logging in, the citizens will select the required service; this will be followed by scheduling a meeting with the Dastak Facilitator at a venue of the citizens’ choice. Finally, submit the request. The Dastak Facilitator will help the citizen in filling out the necessary forms and furnishing the required documentation. The Facilitator will engage the relevant government department and ensure that the service required by the citizen is rendered to his/her satisfaction. Citizens will also be able to rate their experience with the Facilitator to help improve the service delivery,” he added.
He pointed out that the Dastak Facilitators are crucial to this initiative; they are trained resources responsible for delivering the services to citizens’ doorsteps.
“They will be liaising with the government departments on behalf of the citizens making it extremely convenient for the elderly, physically disadvantaged and women to avail government services in the comfort of their homes. The trained Facilitators will comprise both males and females to ensure inclusivity and diversity,” he added.
He was optimistic about the future of “Maryam Ke Dastak” and sees it as a great addition to the government portfolio of services aimed at facilitating the citizens.
“This initiative is a significant step forward in modernising public service delivery in Punjab,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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