The launch of the ‘Baldia Online App’ by the Punjab Local Government & Community Development Department, in collaboration with the Punjab Information Technology Board, is a vital step towards empowering the people of Punjab. This mobile application enables people to interact with 455 different local governments through a simple click.
While still in its nascent stage, the app provides six different services including birth, death, marriage and divorce registration, besides having a separate section for complaints and suggestions. The department is hopeful that other municipal services will soon be added to make it more pragmatic and dynamic while providing the governments with the platform to increase their outreach and impact. This sudden shift seems to have shaken various government sectors out of their inertia and forced them to think out of the box. However, every change can be turned into an opportunity through strategic planning and effective implementation. Digitalisation has become indispensable when it comes to catering to the particular needs of the people, apart from being economical and convenient.
Unfortunately, a big percentage of the population in Pakistan do not know how to operate technological devices. In addition to this, those belonging to the poor class do not have smart devices and those in remote areas have poor connectivity. Therefore, it is humbly suggested that the existing mechanism of certification and registration is not discontinued in order to facilitate those that do not have access.
Ahmad Waqar Shahid
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, August 20th, 2020.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
