In Delhi, public services to be home-delivered, announces Kejriwal govt; AAP terms it 'historic' decision

AAP announced in a  ‘historic’ decision that home delivery of 40 public services would be available at a nominal cost, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday. The scheme will be rolled out in three to four months and will include services like getting caste certificates done and applying for driving licences. The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. [caption id=“attachment_3854561” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. PTI[/caption] The project, titled “Doorstep delivery of public services through mobile CSC”, was ideated by Kejriwal and is awaiting the Cabinet’s approval.The deputy chief minister said that initially 40 public services will be started, and subsequently, 30 services will be added every month. This is “home delivery of governance”, which is being done for the first time in the country, Sisodia claimed while announcing the Cabinet’s decision. He said that the government would hire a private agency to implement the scheme. “Mobile Sayak (facilitators) will be hired through the agency that would set up call centres…Various certificates such as caste, new water connection, income, driving licence, ration card, domicile, marriage registration, duplicate RC and change of address in RC, will be covered under the scheme in the first phase,” Sisodia told reporters. Giving an example, the deputy chief minister said that if a person wants to apply for a driving licence, he or she will have to call a designated call centre and register their details. “The Mobile Sahyak will be equipped with all necessary machines such as biometric devices and a camera,” Sisodia said. According to NDTV, Kejriwal on Tuesday asked officials to work towards delivery of ration at people’s doorstep through Public Distribution System (PDS). He made the observation during a review meeting of PDS in the city, along with Sisodia, Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, Environment Minister Imran Hussain, and Chief Secretary MM Kutty. Under the new mobile system, beneficiaries will get their quota of ration delivered at their doorstep. On 25 September, the Delhi government had first announced its plans to deploy specialised representatives who would apply on your behalf, collect the required documents and deliver the approved certificate to your house, Hindustan Times had reported.   With inputs from PTI