Exgratia Grant

Prior to opening of this DTO Extension counter in the Distt Sainik welfare office Jalandhar, Ex-servicemen/widows/serving soldiers & their dependents were facing acute problems for making/renewal of their driving Licences. The District Administration here is very receptive and responsive to the needs of Ex-servicemen/Widows and over the years we have been drawing invaluable assistance from them in various fields of our working and this has been instrumental in providing numerous conveniences and amenities to our community. Undoubtedly this has been possible owing to our intimate rapport with the District Administration especially the Deputy Commissioner. We on our part render unqualified support to them as and when asked. This has built up our credibility very high and this has put us to a great advantage while asking for succour for the Ex-servicemen/Widows. Over the years we have experienced that our Ex-servicemen/Widows were highly inconvenienced when they go to District Transport Office (DTO) for making their licences, renewing these or for other such connected works. They have to stand in long queues and wait for long hours before they are attended. There is no concession/priority for any one irrespective of rank, status, age, physical condition of the individual and so on.

Large number of ex-servicemen put up this point in the quarterly Zial Sainik board meetings that DTO extension counter must be opened in District Sainik Welfare Office complex for their convenience. This has been going on for last about year and a half but the present Deputy Commissioner Shri Ashok Kumar Gupta, IAS has been pro active to the problems of Ex-servicemen/Widows and with his intervention, this vexing problem had been solved & directions were given by him that a DTO Extension Counter will be opened in District Sainik Welfare Office Complex inter alia meaning that henceforth Ex-servicemen would not be required to go to the DTO’s office & rather they would transact all their business in District Sainik Welfare Office complex. Accordingly this Counter was commissioned in our complex on 23 Sep 2003.

Later on. however, due to certain technical difficulties this counter was closed & a scheme was evolved to earmark an exclusive extension window at the Suvidha Centre where ex-servicemen/widows/serving personnel could go one day a week to transact their business with convenience. This somehow did not take off properly owing to certain factors. Accordingly we again approached the Deputy Commissioner & this point again came up in Quarterly Meeting of Zila Sainik Board Jalandhar about reopening of DTO counter in District Sainik Welfare Office complex. After certain deliberations, the Deputy Commissioner in consultation with Transport Commissioner Punjab & DTO Jalandhar, again issued instructions for recommissioning of the DTO counter in our office complex. This step was highly hailed not only by the ex-servicemen community but also by the serving soldiers of local formations & units. The Counter started functioning again as hitherto fore wef 03 Feb 2006. The credit for raising the aspiration of ex servicemen, analyzing the phenomenon & then mitigating their travails singularly goes to Shri Ashok Kumar Gupta, IAS Deputy Commissioner Jalandhar. His concern for the cause of ex-servicemen & their families is total. It stems from his astute concern and awareness towards the needs of Ex-servicemen/Widows and he always endeavours to replicate innovative cultures for their welfare, which is admirable. Not only this, he has committed to assist us in all our ventures directed towards ameliorating the lot of Ex-servicemen/Widows and not only upkeep but enhance our image as the best and first ranking Zila Sainik Board in the country. We are all beholden to the President Zila Sainik Board for his magnanimity, characteristic zeal and above all his prime concern for all of us.

We had already trained some staff members from our office who were put under study of DTO staff. It was decided that this counter will initially be operative once a week (on Fridays) when DTO/our staff will sit and work jointly and prepare all documents as applied for by the applicants. These documents/licenses etc will then be processed in DTO’s office and would be delivered to the applicants next Friday in our office so that no beneficiary has to go to DTO’s office. Initially the following works are being undertaken/handled at the Extension Counter.