The Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, ordered the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority on Monday to improve its online complaint portal, where citizens’ complaints could be addressed immediately. This order was issued along with another instruction to the chief of this organization to engage in outreach with the people of Punjab, following a wave of allegations of corruption against this force.
As chairman of the meeting that was reviewing the performance of Pera, the digitization process, legal framework, and future direction, the chief minister mentioned that the digital requisition of documents will be made compulsory in all processes of Pera from now on.
Corruption Allegations Lead to Wider Sweep
The Punjab CM Pera complaint portal direction is included in the wider process of accountability initiated by the chief minister in wake of the allegations of corruption against the Pera officials. Earlier, CM Maryam had directed an anti-corruption sweep against the officials who indulged in unlawful activities and harassment of the citizens.
By setting the deadline of June 30 for wearing body cameras by all field officers in order to guarantee transparency and accountability, she had created yet another deadline that was unlikely to be met, thus casting more doubts on her operational capacity.
The Review Also Applies To 4,000 Staff Members
The chief minister was also ordered by the chief minister to scrutinize 4,000 staff members at the Punjab CM Pera portal. She made it clear that any staff member or official who is found to be running any illegal operation could receive punishment between three days to three years in jail.
“Every person in Pera’s records will be examined. Even their previous behavior will be checked out. It is time for those who have clean records to be fearless, while the others should prepare themselves,” she had warned.
Pera Force’s Turbulent History
The Perforce, set up in the midst of last year, was intended for conducting anti-encroachment and price regulation activities throughout Punjab. Complaints about the officials of the force accepting bribes from vendors and traders have been increasing ever since its setup – the same complaints that fuel the reforms in the Punjab CM Pera complaint portal.
The above-mentioned trend goes against the very nature of the law, whose aim was to create harmony and justice in enforcement rather than provide a new channel of extortion.
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New Guidelines Demand Notice Prior to Enforcement
Apart from the directives on the complaints platform, the state’s chief minister also made it mandatory for the authorities to issue adequate notice prior to conducting any anti-encroachment activity on account of the public.
Moreover, she ordered that apart from the anti-encroachment and price control enforcement activities, all other activities be conducted post-requisition through digital means. In this way, the Punjab CM Pera complaint portal reform process covers not only the grievance redressal procedure but the complete enforcement process too.
Zero Tolerance Policy Against Abuse of Power
According to the Chief Minister, Pera is not a place where officials can scare the public and abuse their power. “We cannot tolerate corruption and abuse of powers under any condition,” she asserted while emphasizing the compliance with the requisitions procedure of Pera.
The directive on Punjab CM Pera complaint portal along with the continuous evaluation of the personnel indicates that the provincial government wants to restore the faith of the public in an enforcing agency whose practices have been questioned since its establishment.
Nayab Fatima is a media professional specializing in fact-based journalism, research, and analytical reporting on technology, telecom, aviation, and automobiles.
