LAHORE: Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman has taken strong notice of applications pending for more than 15 days on the e-Biz Portal and has ordered an immediate report from the relevant departments.
While chairing a meeting at the Civil Secretariat, he was briefed that 32 applications remained ‘pending’ beyond the official deadline and these delays were reported in the departments of Local Government, Housing, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and Punjab Food Authority. He directed the departments concerned to seek explanations from the responsible officials and submit a detailed report without delay.
The Chief Secretary said the e-Biz Portal had been launched on the instructions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to provide citizens with simple, transparent and home-based access to government services. The portal enables the verification and approval of NOCs and permits entirely through a paperless digital system, he added.
The Chief Secretary emphasized that the portal’s effectiveness depends on ensuring that citizens do not have to visit government offices and that all applications are processed within a maximum of 15 days. Any unnecessary delay, he said, undermines the government’s commitment to fast, efficient and transparent service delivery. He instructed all departmental heads to personally monitor
the portal’s data to ensure timely facilitation of the public.
The Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) briefed the meeting that the number of services available on the e-Biz Portal has reached 183, with 34 additional services to be launched soon. The portal has so far received more than 11,000 applications, of which 10,000 have been processed and approved digitally.
The meeting was attended by the secretaries of Finance, Communications and Works, the Director General LDA, and other senior officials.
All the administrative secretaries, divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated via video link.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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