Jalandhar: Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, AAP workers go full throttle

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, February 6

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the state government from today onwards started offering free of cost delivery of almost all facilities at Suwidha camps to the masses under its new campaign “Aap di Sarkar, Aap De Dwar”.

While government fee and facilitation charges are levied for every facility at the Suwidha Centre, no such charges are being taken from applicants at the camps. For instance, a sum of Rs 12 as government fee and Rs 50 as facilitation charges are levied at the Suwidha Centre for the addition of names in the copies of a birth certificate. However, applicants are getting this facility and a host of other documents for free at the camp.

In fact, the staff of Suwidha centres has been roped in to hold these camps at 32 locations across the district each day. Even computers and printers from Suwidha centres have been pitched in for the work and on-the-spot delivery of documentation is being done.

During a visit to a camp at Kalia Colony this evening, applicants said if they deposited all supporting documents required as per the provision, they were made to wait for less than 30 minutes to get a certified and printed copy of the required certificate.

To woo the visitors at the camps, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers, who are claimants to councillors’ ticket, were seen working full throttle at these camps held in the city.

The AAP workers said they got announcements done in gurdwaras and temples, distributed pamphlets and personally contacted residents urging them to avail of the free service at the camps and were thus able to start a mass contact drive for the party.

Ashwani Kumar Aggarwal, in-charge, Jalandhar Lok Sabha, AAP, said he checked several camps today, including those in Phillaur. “When I reached the camp at Kalia Colony, visitors told me that they wanted facilities related to Jalandhar Improvement Trust also to be doled out at the camps. So, we called in officials from the Trust too to handle the problems of people. We are also setting up a complaint centre at all camps for a better response system,” he said.

Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh also took rounds of Hirapur, Vakhu Nangal, Pahra, and Nandanpur villages of Jalandhar to supervise arrangements.

Highlights of the scheme

• 32 camps, including four in Jalandhar-1, four in Jalandhar-2, four in Adampur, five in Nakodar, six in Shahkot and eight in Phillaur sub-division, held on Day 1.
• 900 camps planned in Jalandhar this month to touch almost every ward, village
• Promise to offer 44 services, all not available on Day 1
• Suwidha Centre staff, systems deployed
• Announcements made in gurdwaras, temples
• Information pamphlets distributed by AAP workers
• Applicants allowed to visit camps in any mohalla to avail of the facility

No charges from applicants

While government fee and facilitation charges are levied for every facility at the Suwidha Centre, no such charges are being taken from applicants at the camps. For instance, a sum of Rs 12 as government fee and Rs 50 as facilitation charges are levied at the Suwidha Centre for the addition of names in the copies of a birth certificate. However, applicants are getting this facility and a host of other documents for free at the camp.

Akin to Viksit Bharat camps

The scheme started by the state government seems to have drawn inspiration from the recently concluded Viksit Bharat Scheme of the Centre. Both focus on doorstep delivery of government schemes. Like Viksit Bharat Scheme, which ran for entire month of January, “AAP di sarkar, aap de dwar” too has been planned to run through entire February. Publicity vans in similar style are expected to reach all sub-divisions in a day or so. While BJP leaders remained active on ground to popularise Centre schemes, AAP workers are working to gain mileage out of it while dispensing state government schemes.

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