National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) will issue Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs) to all eligible population in Punjab before next general elections.
Nadra, Punjab, Director General Colonel Mohammad Iqbal (Retd) stated this while briefing the press at Nadra's provincial headquarters here on Saturday. He said, the process of issuance of CNICs in the Punjab would be completed to a great extent by the mid of next year.
Referring to figures of 1998 census, the DG said that around 91 percent of the eligible population had so far been registered for issuance of CNICs out of which 80 percent had been issued CNICs. Based on these figures, we are hopeful that the remaining of the population will get registered with the Nadra within one year, he maintained.
Unfolding the details of Nadra's operation in Lahore region, he said that 34 Nadra Swift Registration Centres (NSRC) and 11 mobile vans are satisfactorily carrying out their tasks. He said that Nadra Lahore Region has a capacity to process over 10,000 applications a day, while at present around 6,000 applicants are being processed daily, adding that now it is the responsibility of the remaining people to come forward and apply for CNICs at the earliest.
Customer care is the hallmark of these operations and all possible facilities have been provided at the centres where special attention is paid to elderly and female applicants.
Mohammad Iqbal said that Nadra's mobile vans are facilitating people especially the women folk living in far flung areas. At NSRC Samanabad, Lahore, Fridays and Saturdays have been fixed for females only to encourage those women who are reluctant to come to the Nadra offices and go through the entire procedure in the presence of men.
DG, Nadra said that in Punjab, the authority is operating 111 static data acquisition units and 39 mobile vans, with a combined forms-processing capacity of 50,000 daily but only 20,000 forms are being received per day.
To further expand its services and provide facilities to general public, Nadra has installed kiosk machines for payment of utility bills in Lahore region comprising eight districts, where people can pay all their utility bills round-the-clock in a hassle free manner without waiting in queues for long hours.
In view of their increasing popularity, the number of machines have been increased to 19 in Lahore, three in Gujranwala and two in Sialkot, while another 17 would soon come up at Lahore, Sheikhupura and Okara.
Nadra is also engaged in automation of union councils with the district government for issuance of computerised birth certificates and registration of other related events like death, marriage and divorce. Around 300 UCs have been automated in Lahore region, he maintained.