Faisalabad: Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Faisalabad introduced a GIS-based digital desilting model to ensure transparent, paperless and real-time monitoring of drainage maintenance operations, marking a major step towards modernizing service delivery through technology.
WASA spokesman said here on Monday that the new system digitized desilting activities across all operational subdivisions, enabling officers to prepare, review, approve and monitor desilting schedules through a centralized Geographic Information System (GIS) platform.
Under the new model, Assistant Directors of Operations and Maintenance (OandM) can prepare desilting schedules for their respective areas directly on the GIS platform. The proposed schedules were then shared electronically with the concerned Deputy Managing Directors and Directors for review and approval before execution, he added. He said that after approval, the field staff could update desilting activities in real time by uploading geo-tagged photographs taken before and after the work, ensuring on-ground verification and maintaining a complete digital record of every operation.
He said that the entire process had been designed to operate without paper documentation, significantly improving transparency, accountability and operational efficiency.
He said that the centralized digital dashboard would also enable the senior management of WASA Faisalabad and WASA Punjab to monitor the progress of desilting operations across the city in real time. To ensure successful implementation of the new system, a comprehensive training session was organized for all OandM Assistant Directors. Deputy Managing Director (OandM) Farhan Akram attended the session while Deputy Director GIS Rana Tasawur Hussain gave a detailed briefing on the features and operational framework of the newly digitized desilting system.
He informed the participants that further work was underway to enhance the system by integrating it with the complaint management system, consumer database and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based capabilities to further improve operational efficiency, data-driven decision-making and public service delivery.
The GIS section also facilitated the immediate operationalization of the system by creating and activating login credentials for all field staff, enabling them to start using the digital platform without delay.
WASA official said that the initiative reflected the agency’s commitment to adopting modern digital technologies to strengthen urban infrastructure management, improve transparency in public service delivery and ensure more effective maintenance of the city’s drainage network.