Ombudsman Punjab Maj (retd) Azam Suleman Khan presented the annual performance report of the Office of the Ombudsman Punjab for 2022 to Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman at the Governor’s House on Thursday.
Advisers and consultants of the Ombudsman Office were also present on the occasion.
Ombudsman Azam Suleman explained various aspects of the annual performance report, stating that the ombudsman office successfully resolved 29,970 complaints, out of a total 31,149, resulting in an impressive 96% resolution rate. Of those, 26,511 complaints were addressed within 45 days, while 3,459 applications took longer than 45 days due to some administrative factors.
He highlighted that the effective handling of public complaints has resulted in a cumulative financial relief of Rs 13.842 billion for both plaintiffs and the government. This relief included the recovery of 29,363 kanals of state and private lands in various districts, valued at Rs 9.117 billion. The total financial assistance provided to the plaintiffs amounted to Rs 4.725 billion, he added.
The ombudsman also provided a breakdown of the top 10 departments against whom his office received the highest number of complaints in 2022. The revenue department had a total of 5,584 complaints, followed by the police with 4,324 complaints, the Local Government & Community Development with 3,681 complaints, school education with 1,791 complaints, Housing, Urban Development & Public Health Engineering with 1,690 complaints, Primary & Secondary Healthcare with 1,461 complaints, higher education with 983 complaints, Communication & Works with 959 complaints, Accountant General Punjab with 946 complaints, and irrigation with 821 complaints.
In addition, the ombudsman reported that 150 eligible complainants were provided with regular employment in provincial government departments by his office under Rule 17-A of the Punjab Civil Servants (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 1974.
