The recently-appointed city district coordination officer (DCO) on Monday gave a three-day deadline to the executive district officers (EDOs) concerned to make functional all complaint and information counters of City District Government Karachi (CDGK)’s one-window facility.
The one-window facility to address citizens’ problems was launched in 2005 by former city nazim Mustafa Kamal at the CDGK head office. The counters, however, are presenting a deserted look as the deputed staffers do not bother to attend the visiting complainants.
Reportedly, the staff deputed at the facility changed its duties after the expiry of the local government tenure.
Sources told Pakistan Today that citizens are running from pillar to post to make their grievances known but mostly they return home without any success, as the complaints require scrutiny from CDGK officials at the counter before being dispatched to the officials concerned.
Around 43 counters of different civic departments are set up but the staff remains absent from their duty, the sources said. “Majority of the personnel works as private agents and only entertains queries that can yield some extra fee, depending on the nature of the problem. The agents become active after the closing time and then mint money from the citizens, while assuring them of resolving their problems.”
Due to unavailability of staff at the ground floor, the complainants face great difficulties in visiting the relevant departments situated on different floors of the 10-storey city government building.
Taking notice of the situation, DCO Roshan Ali Shaikh visited the one-window operation counters on Monday.
Annoyed with the closure of counters, he directed better and effective use of the facility, and appointed Finance and Planning EDO Aamir Khursheed as the focal person to look after the matter.
The DCO said that people visiting the Civic Centre should be facilitated at the ground floor in an efficient way.
He also issued directive for setting up a special counter for pensioners, where all of their problems could be addressed.
Shaikh instructed all EDOs to monitor their counters on regular basis.
While inspecting the Health Department counter, the DCO was informed that five out of the nine ambulances purchased for CDGK’s 1122 Ambulance Service were out of order.
