E-sewa performance: At 0.03%, Amritsar has least pendency; Moga at bottom of list

E-Sewa Punjab is a unified online platform by the Punjab government to provide citizen services to residents of the state.

A daily report of applications under process and pendency rate is circulated among the districts in order to update the district heads about the performance. In December 2023, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot topped the table with least pending applications, although their positions differed according to the pendency rate on different days of the month.

In Amritsar, a total of 3,98,639 applications were received in the past one year till January 5, out of which 9,033 were rejected while 3,78,438 applications were approved. While 7,107 applications were under process, the rest had been settled. And out of these 7,107, only 134 applications were pending, that is, not delivered within the stipulated time, as on January 5. The applications under process in Pathankot were 1,548 as on January 5 and only 44 were pending, while in Bathinda 5,450 applications were under process, out of which 105 were pending.

Though the pendency rate of Gurdaspur was also 0.05% as on January 5, here out of 2,571 applications under process, 122 were pending. As the number of pending applications in Gurdaspur was more than Bathinda, so it’s been slotted at the fourth position even though the pendency percentage is the same, revealed information.

The first sewa kendra with 243 services was inaugurated in August 2016 in Jalandhar during the SAD-BJP rule. New services were adding over the time with 56 services being added in February 2021. The total services now are 430.

‘Electronic service’ is a form of e-government aimed at providing speedier and efficient public services like birth-death certificates, Aadhaar card correction/updation, residence certificate, caste certificates, marriage certificates, issuance of medical certificate, labour registration and services, pension schemes, arms licence, learner licence, RC and driving licence, receiving all sorts of utility bills, and redressing grievances, among others. All the services are time-bound and so, the daily pendency report keeps the staff on their toes.

As per the report of December 28, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, Gurdaspur district had topped service delivery performance table – with a total of 2,60,513 applications received, out of which 8,354 were rejected and 2,49,080 got approved in one-year time period. However, 2,802 applications were under process, out of which only 84 were pending, thus making a pendency rate of just 0.03 per cent. Amritsar was at number two position which had got 3,97,269 applications in one year. While it had rejected 9,002 applications, 3,77,144 were approved. As on December 28, 7,152 applications were under process, out of which 193 were pending, thus making a pendency rate of 0.05%.

Pathankot had 1,14,231 applications approved in one year. Its 2,111 applications were still under process, out of which 62 were pending, with a pendency rate of 0.05%. It stood at third spot.

On December 27, Amritsar topped the performance table with only 0.04% pendency rate of applications.

The bottom three districts as on January 5 were Moga at 23rd spot with 3,128 applications under process, 563 pending, a pendency rate of 0.43 (highest); Kapurthala at 22nd spot with 1,416 applications under process, 514 pending and a pendency rate of 0.41%; and Ludhiana at 21st spot with 9,087 applications under process, 1,796 pending and a pendency rate of 0.34%.

On December 28, Kapurthala was at 23rd place with a pendency rate of 0.74%, while Ludhiana at 22nd position with a pendency rate of 0.7%. Fatehgarh Sahib was at 21st position as on December 28 with a pendency rate of 0.52%.

Amritsar had been in top three spots since November and it had maintained its position in top three throughout December as well. For the record, on October 17, Amritsar was at 22nd position in terms of pendency.

After Ghanshyam Thori took charge as Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar on October 17, the pendency rate of the district started improving, revealed the data. Looking at the past record of Thori, when he was deputy commissioner of Jalandhar and Sangrur, these districts used to remain in top three spots most of the time.

Tejveer Singh, Principal Secretary, Department of Governance Reforms and Public Grievances, while talking to The Indian Express said, “Overall, we are satisfied with the delivery of service as every district is doing its best.

The ranking is for a healthy competition among the districts as there is always room for improvement. The ranking spurs everyone to give their best. The top rank districts are having an application pendency of just 0.03%, while that at the bottom is also less than half per cent. Well, that doesn’t mean that we can afford to get complacent because providing the service to citizens in time should be our first priority.”

Ghanshyam Thori, Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, told The Indian Express, “Of the people approaching government offices to avail of any service, almost 90% of them get it through sewa kendras. And when they get their services delivered in time, it resolves most of the issues and people don’t have to meet DC or other senior officials to resolve their grievances. And that makes the public happy.”

Charumita Shekhar, who is holding multiple charges like general assistant (GA) to deputy commissioner, chief minister’s field officer (CMFO) and SDM Dharamkot, said, “The work related to sewa kendra applications is handled by the GA to DC, but as my hands are full since I am holding multiple charges and there has been no regular GA in Moga since April 2023, sometimes it becomes difficult to check everything. Despite this, we do regular follow-up and talk to the officers concerned to oversee the pendency rate. Moga has been at the bottom, but not every time.
It has also been at 10th and 12th spots in the past.”

Talking to The Indian Express, Showkat Ahmed Parray, Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, said, “We have a separate WhatsApp group in which we follow up the pendency daily in the morning. We also share a list of pending applications which is likely to cross the time limit in next seven days. Officials who fail to clear pending applications also get a call from the branch to ascertain the reason for the delay, and those who have no genuine reason for the backlog, they are called to my office for personal explanation before me.”

Heena Sharma, a resident of Abohar, who had applied online to get her service income and assets certificate last month, said, “I got the certificate within a few days without any hassle. If general works are done and delivered in time, then the image of the government departments will improve in the eyes of public.”

Chetan Kumar, a resident of Pakhowal Road in Ludhiana, said, “Online updation of Aadhaar card is a big hassle, but when I went to Suvidha Kendra on Saturday, to my surprise, I was free in 15 minutes. Suvidha Kendras also work on all days, and that really serves the citizens well as they can visit the kendra any day of the week according to their convenience.”