Punjab launches e-procurement to eliminate corruption

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the history of Punjab, “e-procurement” has been started to eliminate the corruption of millions of rupees by departments.

On the orders of Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, now all the departments across Punjab will be able to make purchases only through e-procurement. Sources said that with this initiative of the Punjab government, contractors who used to submit manual tax at the time of supply of goods to departments across the province will now have to pay full tax, which would reduce tax evasion of millions of rupees.

Under the new system, the departments DDO will be able to purchase of up to two lakh rupees through the e-procurement system, while for purchases above, apart from e-procurement, advertisements in two newspapers will also have to be placed. Sources said that paperless “e-filing and office automation system” was started in all the government departments through e-governance framework in Punjab.

According to sources, the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) is launching a new electronic system for government officials and employees on the instructions of chief secretary.

This system can also be used on mobile phones through an app. Through this system, pensioners will not only be able to apply for their pension online on the mobile app but also their data will be transferred to the Accountant General and approved online.

Similarly, Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of all officers and employees across the province will now be sent through the mobile app on the new system. Earlier, officers used to write the ACRs of their subordinates manually, which sometimes caused delays and problems regarding the promotions of officers in the promotion boards, but now the officer can write the ACRs of his subordinates through this app.

Sources said that through this mobile app, leaves of officers and employees can be approved.

This will allow the leave sanctioning officers to know immediately how many leaves have been taken by which officer or employee, how many are outstanding and for what purpose. According to the sources, online attendance of officers and employees will be possible through this mobile app.

Every officer can check the attendance of their subordinate through this mobile app not only immediately but also the online position of the officer or employee will be known whether he/she is present in the office. The government officer and employee will sign out this app while leaving the office, which will show at what time they finished their duty and left the office.