‘Baldiya Shikayat’ app developed for addressing people’s complaints

LAHORE: As a practical step towards digitisation of local bodies, a mobile application namely Baldiya Shikayat has been developed for ensuring provision of quality municipal services by swiftly addressing citizens’ complaints in 16 cities of Punjab under the World Bank assisted Punjab Cities Programme.

Punjab Caretaker Local Government Minister Ibrahim Murad has directed for extending the scope of this mobile application to the entire province, which was presently functional in the cities of Daska, Hafizabad, Jhelum, Kamonki, Mureedke, Wazirabad, Gojra, Jaranwala, Jhang, Kamalia, Okara, Bahawalpur, Burewala, Khanewal, Kot Addu and Vahari. The caretaker minister directed this during a briefing about the App by Mahmood Masood, General Manager, Punjab Municipal Development Fund Company. The minister asked for devising an effective monitoring mechanism to address the people’s complaints. For ensuring transparency and improving service delivery by municipal bodies, necessary steps were being taken for introducing digital governance, including development of multi-purpose mobile Apps, he said. The minister was informed that citizens in these cities could register their complaint on this App through audio message also. A special animated video has also been prepared to educate the citizens about the use of this App.

The municipal officials concerned took immediate action on receiving the complaint and the complainant was informed through SMS about redressal of his complaint, the minister was told. He directed that the projects being executed under the Punjab Cities Programme, at a cost of Rs23 billion funded by the World Bank, should be completed within the stipulated time period. These projects included lying of water supply networks, drainage system, solid waste management system, construction of roads and streets, parks as well as bus stands in the 16 cities of Punjab.