Punjab Orders Govt Offices to Go Fully Paperless From July 1

The Punjab government has ordered all provincial departments and district offices to shift to a fully paperless working system from July 1, 2026, in a major move aimed at modernising public administration across the province. The decision was announced in Lahore during a conference of provincial secretaries chaired by the Punjab chief secretary.

Under the new directive, government departments and field offices have been instructed to connect immediately with Punjab’s e-Filing and Office Automation System, commonly known as e-FOAS. The platform is designed to replace conventional paper files, manual correspondence and routine printed documentation with a digital administrative workflow.

Officials said the transition will become mandatory from the start of the next financial year. From July 1, departments and field offices will be required to conduct official communication, record movement and administrative processing through the digital system rather than relying on physical files.

The chief secretary told the meeting that the shift away from paper-based governance reflects the province’s broader push to use information technology in public service delivery. He said digital filing would help speed up official decisions, reduce delays and make departmental work more transparent.

According to the government’s position, the move has already created significant savings where digital systems have been implemented. Officials believe wider adoption of e-FOAS will reduce annual spending on paper, printing, stationery, file storage and manual record handling, saving billions of rupees for the public exchequer.

The directive also requires all departments to complete staff training before the July deadline. Administrative secretaries have been told to ensure that offices have the required digital infrastructure, trained personnel and internal procedures in place so that the transition does not disrupt routine government work.

Punjab’s bureaucracy has traditionally relied heavily on physical files, handwritten notes, printed correspondence and manual approval chains. That system often slows decision-making, increases record-management costs and creates risks of missing files, delayed responses and limited accountability in official processes.

A paperless system could change how citizens, officials and departments interact with the government. If implemented effectively, digital file tracking may make it easier to identify delays, monitor pending cases and reduce unnecessary movement of documents between offices.

The development is also important for Pakistan’s wider governance reforms, as provincial administrations increasingly face pressure to improve efficiency, reduce waste and adopt technology-based public management. Punjab’s move may encourage other provinces and federal departments to accelerate similar digital transformation plans.

The next challenge will be implementation at the district and field-office level, where infrastructure, internet access, staff capacity and resistance to change can affect progress. The government is expected to monitor departmental readiness before the July 1 deadline to ensure that the paperless policy becomes a functioning administrative reform rather than a symbolic announcement.