Starting August-end, around 70 types of Delhi government services, including applications for different licences, certificates and registrations, would be available to residents at their doorstep, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference after a Cabinet meeting, Mr. Sisodia said the Cabinet had approved the award of the tender for doorstep delivery of services. A private company, VFS Global, to which various embassies and high commissions have outsourced the visa application process to, would be given a three-year contract.
More to be added
“The Cabinet has approved the award of tender and the file has been sent to the Lieutenant-Governor. By August-end, the doorstep delivery of services would start first with 70 services and 30 more would be added within a month of the launch,” said Mr. Sisodia.
The Cabinet had on November 16, 2017 approved the proposal for doorstep delivery of 40 services. The proposal had then run into some trouble as L-G Anil Baijal had expressed some concerns about it. On January 15, 2018, Raj Niwas announced that the proposal had been approved.
Nominal charges
Mr. Sisodia said 30 services were being added to the 40 announced in November, so the scheme would launch with 70 services.
Under the scheme, the staff of the private company would go to the homes of applicants, have them fill out forms, and submit the forms and application fees to the government offices concerned. Once completed, the certificates would be sent to the homes of the applicants.
Among the services included are marriage registration, caste certificates, applications for new water connections and driving licence.
Though the government has not yet announced how much the doorstep service would cost users, Mr. Sisodia had earlier said it would be a nominal amount.
Apart from this, the Cabinet also approved the expenditure of ₹303 crore for the construction of a six-lane flyover at Shastri Park and a two-lane flyover at Seelampur by the Public Works Department. Mr. Sisodia said these would not only reduce traffic jams in the area, but would also lead to the stretch from the Uttar Pradesh border till Anand Vihar ISBT becoming “signal-free”.
The Cabinet also approved an 18-month real-time source apportionment study of air pollution to be done by the University of Washington.
The expenditure of ₹1.20 crore from the Air Ambience Fund was approved for the study proposed by the Environment and Forest Department.
The Cabinet also cleared the Health Department’s proposal to remodel 94 dispensaries into polyclinics at an expense of ₹168 crore.
