Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 22: Describing e-Governance as the most effective tool in eliminating corruption and procedural delays from day-to-day administrative working, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today designated Information Technology (IT) Department as the servicing agency for rolling out online services in Housing, Power, Revenue, PHE and Transport Departments for the benefit of the people in the State.
Mufti Sayeed said necessary orders will be issued for empowering the IT Department for offering these services online in a transparent and time-bound manner. By this move, obtaining building permissions, driving licences, income certificates and state subjects will become much easier and hassle-free.
The Chief Minister said this while chairing a high-level meeting of IT Department, which is the Administrative Department for core e-Governance projects in the State.
Highlighting the role of e-Governance in bridging the digital divide, Mufti Sayeed emphasized upon the need to educate people since they are generally unaccustomed to use of IT and IT-enabled services. “To begin with, Government will initiate steps in making Khidmat Centres functional by authorizing them to provide online services,” he said and added that more public utilities will be added to provide governance at the doorsteps of the people.
Asserting that the development of e-Services is directly linked to the active involvement of citizens and the Government in delivery of public services, the Chief Minister called upon the department to motivate Anganwari & ASHA workers towards e-Governance so that the target of 100% female literacy is achieved. “Cent per cent literacy is part of our Agenda of the Alliance. We cannot become a smart society unless targets fixed for emancipation of women are not met,” he emphasized.
Asking IT Department to learn lessons from the devastating floods of 2014 in which very important record pertaining to the field departments was washed away, Mufti Sayeed said effective steps are required to be taken in securing data at a dedicated recovery site. “Invaluable records have been lost in last year’s flood fury. Well-established recovery site will help in safeguarding important Government data,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. Nirmal Singh, said the Power and H&UD Departments will take further steps to ensure hassle-free online services in issuing power bills and building permissions to the consumers.
During the meeting, the department was advised to undertake back-end preparations by holding consultations with the identified departments for starting e-Services and creating consciousness amongst consumers to drive traffic towards online utilization of public services.
Secretary IT and S&T, Saurabh Baghat, briefed the Chief Minister about various Centrally-sponsored schemes including the prestigious State Wide Area Network (SWAN) that will link internet connectivity from the State headquarters up to the block level.
Later, while reviewing the functioning of Science & Technology Department, Mufti Sayeed asked the Power Development Department (PDD) to grid-connect two 100 MW Solar Power Projects, one each in Kashmir and Jammu, on a pilot basis.
The Chief Minister also issued directions for incorporating solar power generation in the State’s Power Purchase Policy to promote renewable energy projects in the State.
Minister for Finance, Dr. Haseeb A. Drabu, Minister for Animal Husbandry and S&T, Sajad Gani Lone, Minister for IT, YS&S, Technical Education, Imran Raza Ansari, Minister of State for Finance & IT, Pawan Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas and other senior officers of IT and S&T Departments attended the meeting.
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