Bribery and Favouritism to End Through Digital Reforms: Punjab Chief Secretary

By Muhammad Shahzad
Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE: Punjab’s push towards digital governance reached a major milestone on Wednesday as the provincial eBiz Portal expanded to offer 204 online government services, a move aimed at enhancing transparency, efficiency, and corruption-free public service delivery.
The eBiz Portal, launched under the vision of the Chief Minister of Punjab, allows citizens to access a wide range of government services from home through a fully digital and paperless system. These include the issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and permits, significantly reducing delays, human discretion, and opportunities for bribery.
Progress on the portal was reviewed during a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman at the Civil Secretariat. The meeting decided to establish monitoring committees at the provincial, departmental, and district levels to ensure effective oversight and timely processing of applications.
Under the new structure, the provincial-level committee will be headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, departmental committees by the respective secretaries, and district-level committees by deputy commissioners.
Addressing the meeting, the Chief Secretary said the eBiz Portal would play a decisive role in eliminating bribery and the culture of favoritism in government offices. “A transparent digital system will help restore citizens’ trust in the government,” he said, urging officers to prioritize public facilitation and reminding them that public office is a responsibility entrusted for service to the people.
He emphasized that the success of reform initiatives depends on teamwork and directed all departments to extend full cooperation to the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) for the effective implementation of IT-based reforms.
The Chief Secretary also appreciated the performance of departments for disposing of applications within the stipulated 15-day timeframe.
During the meeting, the Chairman of PITB gave a detailed briefing, informing participants that 15 government departments are currently offering 204 services through the eBiz Portal. He added that work is underway to digitize services of all government departments, attached bodies, and offices.
According to the briefing, a total of 12,811 applications have so far been received through the portal, of which 12,414 have already been processed and approved via the digital system.
Secretaries of key departments, including local government, health, communication and works, and tourism, attended the meeting, while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated via video link.