FAISALABAD, Oct 29 (APP): Punjab’s first Commissioner Facilitation Desk has been established at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) to provide industrialists and traders a dedicated platform to raise grievances against government departments and seek their timely resolution.
Assistant Commissioner General Dr Muhammad Zeeshan announced the desk while addressing a meeting of FCCI’s standing committees and said that this initiative would help reduce bureaucratic hurdles and create a more business-friendly environment.
He outlined a coordinated mechanism for resolving business-related issues through consultation, awareness and improved liaison between the administration and the business community.
He said that the government wanted to facilitate industries and businesses rather than subject them to unnecessary inspections, harassment or punitive action.
The procedure for addressing complaints would be developed in consultation with the business community, with priority given to departments generating the highest number of grievances, he added.
Dr Zeeshan said that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against which the business community had lodged the most complaints would be the first department taken up under the initiative.
Awareness and training sessions would initially be organized to familiarize businesses with relevant environmental requirements and procedures, he said.
After these sessions, the concerned establishments would be given reasonable time to rectify shortcomings and comply with the applicable requirements, he added.
He said that the approach would help prevent complaints arising from a lack of awareness and enable businesses to address deficiencies before enforcement action was considered.
He said that the administration would initially focus on the complaints involving provincial departments while grievances concerning federal departments would be addressed in a subsequent phase.
To further streamline the process, a specific schedule would be introduced for departmental inspections, ensuring that businesses were checked during designated hours rather than being subjected to repeated or unexpected visits by different departments, he added.
He said that a timeframe for resolving complaints would also be established to make the mechanism more effective and accountable.
Dr Zeeshan emphasized that the administration and business community needed to work as a team to overcome operational difficulties, improve regulatory compliance and promote conducive environment for industrial and commercial activity.
Earlier, FCCI President Arif Ehsan Malik said that businesspeople were frequently subjected to harassment in the name of surprise inspections instead of being properly informed about regulatory requirements and being given an opportunity to rectify deficiencies.
He appreciated Divisional Commissioner Faisalabad Imran Hamid Sheikh’s new strategy and said that it could help remove unnecessary obstacles to business expansion and strengthen coordination between government departments and the private sector.
FCCI President said that Faisalabad chamber wanted the Commissioner Facilitation Desk to remain active and responsive so that business-related complaints could be heard at a single platform and pursued with the relevant departments through effective coordination.
He said that the initiative was an important step towards promoting ease of doing business and strengthening communication between the government and business community.
The chamber would work to make the desk more effective and result-oriented to ensure timely redressal of issues affecting Faisalabad’s industrial and commercial sectors, he added.
FCCI Chief said that the complaints received at Commissioner’s Office could also be referred to the facilitation desk at FCCI, enabling businesspeople to benefit from a more accessible and coordinated grievance-redressal mechanism.
During meeting, conveners of FCCI’s standing committees highlighted a range of concerns involving the EPA, Water & Sanitation Agency (WASA), Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Civil Defense, the Registration Branch, Labor Department, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department, Transport Department and Customs, among others.
The participants called attention to the difficulties faced by businesses in dealing with various public-sector departments and discussed the need for improved coordination, transparent procedures and timely resolution of complaints.
Before discussion, conveners of the standing committees introduced themselves and presented issues relating to their respective sectors.
Those who raised concerns included FCCI Senior Vice President Muhammad Yasin, Dr Habib Aslam Gaba, Farhan Tufail, Sadaqat Hussain Lodhi, Faisal Naeem Paracha and Dr Muzammil Hussain.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
