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SYSTEM UPDATE The ambitious e-governance project to do
official work online has got off to a delayed and troubled start in the state.
An IT department official says there will be ‘birth pangs’, but the sooner the
system gets on its feet, the better it will be for those who have to run from one
government office to another for the simplest things
LUCKNOW, Nov 5, 2012: If e-governance means getting your
building map approved by a mere click of the mouse, then e-governance is
certainly a distant dream. But the picture is not bleak either, at least for
those living in the state capital, who can now pay their house tax and power
bills online.
Indeed, government departments need to pull up
their socks to become more accessible and people-friendly, but few can deny
that the use of Information Technology has made life a wee bit easier in
certain spheres. Ventures like e-seva, e-suvidha, and Lokvani may not yet have
struck a chord due to lack of awareness, but they can and are in some cases
laying out the roadmap for development.
“The State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG), the
government portal connected to the common service centres (CSCs) and Lokvani
centres, is still in its nascent stage. There will be birth pangs,” said a
senior IT department official.
People’s response across the state has shown that
the idea of submitting applications for government services online has many
takers. The IT department official said that e-applications have started being
processed by several departments but results would take time as the backend
infrastructure is inadequate.
Just as one swallow does not make a summer, the
government’s e-initiative requires a collective and coordinated effort to
succeed. Those at the helm of IT-based citizen-specific services are yet to
pass this litmus test.
With the exception of few cash-rich civic and
development agencies, the majority of government departments in the e-loop lack
not only the required infrastructure but also trained officials to do the job.
The initial hiccups in providing 26 services online under the ambitious
e-governance project had also forced authorities to scale down their plans.
E-services are being provided in Lucknow at 142
common service centres across the district. But a spot check by HT confirmed
that people were far from happy with the state of affairs.
“I filled my form for a domicile certificate two
weeks ago. I was told to file an affidavit along with the form. For this I need
to visit the tehsil office. I wonder what purpose e-governance serves,” said
Abhinav Sharma, a city resident.
Similarly, many applicants have to visit tehsil
offices to get their documents attested, which defeats the very purpose of
online service. The idea of e-governance was to check irregularities, ensure
transparency, and, most importantly, do away with the running around for
official work. But the officials themselves give contradictory information.
Applicants seeking e-services of the eight departments that are currently
offering them were told that there was no requirement of visiting tehsil
offices for getting birth, death, domicile, caste, income, and employment
certificates, which could be procured from the CSC itself.
The district authorities concede to a possible
‘knowledge gap’ in the project.
In Lucknow, over 5,000 e-applications have been
uploaded. Out of these, a little over 35% are said to have been attended to.
“The facility is intended to reduce the interaction of end users with
government officials. But there is a problem somewhere in the delivery process.
We will try to track it down and make some changes,” said a senior district
administration official.
Officials say that following complaints, the
state government held two meetings to track down the problem. Chief minister
Akhilesh Yadav himself chaired one meeting and the other was presided over by
principal secretary, Information Technology. “Actually the services have almost
done away with human interaction completely. Maybe there are some officials at
various levels who are yet to adapt to the new system. A major disincentive for
them seems to be the fact that it puts an end to their under-the-table income,”
the official said.
But these are just minor glitches, says an IT
official monitoring the venture. “The two key components for the success of a
major programme are political will and administrative support. Fortunately, we
have both in abundance right now,” he said.
