Massive response to 'Doorstep Delivery of Services' scheme forces Delhi govt to increase number of phone lines, operators

The Delhi government has stepped up the operational strength of its much-publicised ‘Doorstep Delivery of Services’ four-fold, but due to the massive response from citizens, a larger number of calls went unanswered even on the third day of operation. A statement issued by the Delhi government said, “On the third day of the launch more than 21,000 calls were connected. With the back-end system, phone lines and operators increased manifold compared to the day of the launch, no call failed on the third day, although not all were answered as many of them were on waiting and the unanswered calls are being returned.”

As per data released by the government, the total number of calls answered (of the over 21,000 that were connected to call centres) was only 3,517. A Government of Delhi source explained that after the number of operators at the call centre was increased from 40 on the day of the launch to 150, and number of phone lines increased from 50 to 200, the numbers of calls that got connected soared.

On the very first day of the scheme, the number of calls connected was only 2,728. On the second day, it rose to 11,055 and on the third day, it crossed the 21,000 mark. The number of calls answered also saw a steady rise; it stood at only 1,286 on the first day, 3,472 on the second and 3,517 on the third. “The people who failed to get Doorstep Delivery of Services due to heavy traffic, are being called back. A separate desk to call back these citizens has been added to the call centre,” said Arunodoy Prakash, media advisor to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

He also added that 4,200 people were called back on the third day until as late as 5 pm by this desk.

“More phone lines and operators will be added if required to accommodate more calls. But the high number of calls waiting seems to be a case of multiple calls made by a single caller,” he added. Of the 21,000 attempted calls that could not be connected on the first day, it was found — when the calls were returned, that only 4,200 numbers were found to be unique. “We are presently in a phase in which we are trying to anticipate the possible number of callers we are going to get everyday. Once this is sorted out, the manpower required to operate the scheme can be estimated,” he said.

In the past three days, nearly 34,839 number of calls were connected out of which 8,275 calls were answered directly and 4,200 people were called back. A further 18,913 persons whose calls could not be answered, were sent SMSes. Since its launch, the doorstep delivery team has visited 223 households and 2,187 appointments were fixed between citizens and officials in the government.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday launched the scheme to provide government services to citizens at their doorstep. At the inauguration event for the scheme he said, “Today we are making a start with 40 services and the Delhi government will soon add 30 more, and the number of services that the Delhi government will ultimately provide will grow to 100 services, on the doorstep of citizens within next three months.”

The government’s rationale is to weed out the coterie of middlemen who peddle government services for money. “Many times, we are informed about malpractices in the government services. Corruption challenges the very vision of the present government and it cannot be tolerated at any cost. The doorstep delivery of government services is the solution to this problem,” said Prakash. Significantly, the Delhi chief minister also has issued strict orders that no request for services by citizens can be rejected on any grounds without the approval of the concerned minister in charge of the department.

He also said, “If any of the requests/applications are delayed under this scheme, it will be taken as an attempt to sabotage the pro-people scheme to further one’s corrupt practices.”

The services covered under this scheme include: 1) Issuance of Caste Certificate (OBC) 2) Issuance of Caste Certificate (SC 3) Issuance of Caste Certificate (ST) 4) Issuance of Domicile Certificate 5) Issuance of Income Certificate 6) Issuance of Delayed Birth Order 7) Issuance of Lal Dora Certificate 8) Issuance of Land Status Report 9) Issuance of Permanent ID Card to the Disabled Person 10) Issuance of Return On Revenue 11) Issuance of Solvency Certificate 12) Issuance of Surviving Member Certificate 13) Registration of Marriage 14) Enrolment as Civil Defence Volunteer 15) Duplicate Registration Certificate of vehicles 16) Change of Address in Registration Certificate of vehicles 17) Transfer of Ownership of vehicles 18) Hypothecation Addition 19) Hypothecation Termination 20) Issuance of NOC of vehices 21) Learner’s Licence 22) Permanent Driving Licence 23) Duplicate Driving Licence 24) Change of Address in D/L 25) Delhi Family Benefit Scheme 26) Handicap Pension Scheme 27) Old Age Pension Scheme 28) Issuance of Priority Household Card 29) Updation of Member Details in the AAY/Priority Household Card 30) New Water/sewer Connection 31) Mutations related to Delhi Jal Board 32) Re-Opening (After rebuilding of house etc.) related to Delhi Jal Board 33) Disconnections related to Delhi Jal Board 34) Approval of Installation of Passenger Lift, Lift Shaft & Machine Room 35) Services under Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954 36) Financial Assistance for purchase of Stationery to SC/ST/OBC/Minority Category 37) Scholarship/ Merit Scholarship to SC/ST/OBC/Minority Students for the school (for Class I to XII) and for OBC(Class VI to XII) 38) Reimbursement of Tuition fees for students belonging to SC/ST/OBC/Minority Category 39) Issuance of delayed death order 40) Renewal of Driving Licence.

Step-by-step procedure to avail services under the scheme: - Applicants will have to call 1076 - The call centre will inform the applicant about the services available - The applicant will be told about the documents required for a particular certificate to be made - The applicant can fix an appointment anytime between 8 am and 10 pm - A mobile sahayak will visit the applicant’s home on the time fixed for the appointment - Mobile sahayaks will be police verified and will not have any details of the applicant other than the postal address - Mobile sahayaks will scan the concerned documents in the presence of the applicant and will provide an e-receipt of fees paid for the service (Rs 50) - Once the application is complete, it will be electronically transferred to the concerned government office - The applicant will receive an SMS at every stage of the process — from the time the request was generated to the delivery of the certificate - Delivery of the certificate will be ensured within the stipulated time-frame either by post or by mobile sahayak

Although the scheme is aimed at providing door step delivery of government services, the applicant will have to visit the concerned office of the concerned department wherever it is mandatory. “For example, in the case of issuing a new Driving Licence, a mandatory test whether the applicant can drive a vehicle is to be conducted. This procedure cannot be bypassed. The applicant will get an appointment from the concerned official of the department to appear for the test. Similarly in the case of marriage, the couple will have to visit the magistrate as per norms. Again, the appointment here will be fixed by the system itself,” said Prakash.

A spokesperson to the VFS Global Services Pvt Ltd in an email communication said, “The e-governance initiative of doorstep delivery of 40 essential citizen services is unique and enables people to avail the same at the convenience of their homes. As the service implementation partner, VFS Global is responsible for providing IT solution and managing the entire manpower of ‘Mobile Sahayaks’ responsible for ensuring the services are delivered to citizens. To avail of the Doorstep Delivery of Services, a citizen has to call the call centre and make a request. This call centre is managed by the Delhi government. The request received by the call centre is routed to the nearest ‘Mobile Sahayak’ for processing of the application.”