DC Prashant Kumar at the news meet on Tuesday. Picture by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad has a reason to be proud. The district administration has been selected for the prestigious United Nations Public Award, 2013, which recognises excellence in public services.

While Rajanagarinda Institute of Child Development, Thailand, has bagged the first slot in the category of improving delivery of public services for Asia and Pacific region for its Child First-Work Together initiative, Dhanbad district has come second for its pioneering pension project called Swavlamban.

The prize distribution ceremony will be held in Manama, capital of Bahrain, from June 24-27.

“It’s a great achievement for the district. A person chosen by the state will go to Bahrain to receive the award,” said Dhanbad deputy commissioner Prashant Kumar.

The award recognises the improvements made under the Swavlamban (self-dependence) project. Introduced by then deputy commissioner Ajay Kumar in 2009, it streamlined distribution of pensions under government schemes. An electronic database for more than 43,000 beneficiaries of different pension schemes was created in 2009 to limit chances of errors.

“Pension was transferred electronically to different banks without engaging BDOs and circle officers. This led to payment to all 43,000 beneficiaries by the 7th of every month,” said Kumar.

The new system, which was adopted as a model by the state, also ensured that only genuine people got the money.