Punjab to implement e-governance from 2010

[Naveed Yaseen]

LAHORE: The Government of Punjab will be e-governed by January 2010 when all 36 districts of the province will be updating vital data on a daily basis, which would enable the chief minister to monitor developments in each district.

Chairman Task Force on IT Nadeem K Haq stated this during a briefing to the members of Lahore Economic Journalist Association.

He said independent Executive District Officers of IT have been appointed in all the districts of Punjab who would include all official information of their districts in the computer network centralised in Lahore.

He said that it has been made mandatory for the EDOs of education, finance, health, agriculture and other departments to pass on the data to their EDO IT every morning within a specified time so that the concerned ministers, officers and chief minister get updated information about all districts.

He said the chief minister would have access to all the districts and departments through a password while the ministers would be able to retrieve information about departments under their jurisdiction from all districts.

He said deputy commissioners would have access to all information relating to their districts. He noted that compliance with regular updating of data would be ensured as the EDO IT and other EDOs would be monitored through several tiers from the chief minister to the ministers and deputy commissioners.

He said e-governance is not computerisation or automation alone. “It is the art of gathering information from all the administrative units of the province that ensures full transparency.”

He informed the media persons that the chief executive of the province would be able to monitor the progress on development work, health and agricultural issues of each district through e-governance, and would take prompt action where required.

This concept, he added, is being applied in most of the developed economies where creditworthiness, health and criminal record of any individual could be retrieved in a few seconds.

He said the Punjab government is developing a software, under which FIR could be filed electronically at any police station of the province.

He said a dedicated FM radio guides the drivers about the road conditions in Lahore. This facility he added would be extended to other cities.

He said overseas Pakistanis funded the facility manned now by the Punjab Police at Qurban line from where they guide an individual to locate a destination in Lahore. The individual simply has to dial 1915 for guidance, he added.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=190547