The helpline-based system supports services for 40 document types as of now, which is set to increase to 100 in another three months.
The Delhi State Government launched the first doorstep public services delivery facility on Monday. Delhi citizens can now dial the helpline number 1076 to avail a range of government documents at home. As of now, this facility is available for 40 document types, including marriage certificate, birth certificate, ration card, driving license to name a few. A fee of Rs. 50 will be required for each service. The initiative was launched by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Enabling smarter governance
The initiative is expected to improve governance and public service and increase overall citizen satisfaction. Citizens will no longer require to visit government offices and stand in never-ending queues to get hold of their documents. The government has set up support centers, which can be reached by dialing 1076. An appointment date will be fixed when a support staff, called Mobile Sahayak, will visit the applicant’s address to collect the application form, necessary documents and the fees. The Sahayak will submit all these documents to the respective government office or department. The department will dispatch the document applied for, after issue, via postal services that will be sent to the applicant’s address.
Future plans and challenges ahead
The coverage of the project is already planned to expand to 100 services from the current 40 within the next three months. Number of operators are set to increase from 40 to 80 and number of phone lines to be increased to 120 from 50 by today, as reported an English Daily.
The operations, however, are anticipated to face heavy traffic on the telephone line, as on the day of the launch itself, they received over 20,000 calls, of which only 2800 were connected and 1200 were answered. Only 369 appointments were fixed. Moreover, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had initially raised concerns regarding security threats from Sahayaks, before the project idea was passed.
However, amidst all the speculations, the State government is optimistic towards a future with better governance through this system.
