No under process file shall remain pending for over seven days: Govt directs all Deptts

Directive issued for appropriate redressal of grievances

*Views seriously low adoption of e-office in certain offices

Mohinder Verma

JAMMU, Aug 25: The Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has directed all the departments that no under process file shall remain pending for over 7 days and Administrative Secretary should supervise e-office file operations within their respective departments. Moreover, serious note has been taken of low-adoption of e-office in certain Deputy Commissioner offices.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that in a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta detailed deliberations were held on e-initiatives taken by the Government and status of their implementation in different departments.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary observed low adoption of e-office especially in certain Deputy Commissioner (DC) offices and accordingly Incharge Administrative Secretaries were directed to review and monitor the same in their respective districts. They have further been told to hold interactions with Deputy Commissioners of such districts to sort out issues, if any, in implementation of e-office.
“The Information Technology Department will provide relevant data in this regard to the concerned Administrative Secretaries and Heads of the Departments so that e-office is implemented in letter and spirit to achieve the objectives behind this initiative of the Government”, sources said quoting the direction of the Chief Secretary.
The Chief Secretary has emphasized the need to ensure that no under process file remains pending for over 7 days and prompt disposal of the files is the main objective of e-office initiative, sources informed, adding “following a suggestion from the Additional Chief Secretary Home, the Chief Secretary urged the Information Technology Department to explore the creation of a dashboard to track the handling of files sent for inter-departmental consultations”.
Regarding National e-governance Service Delivery (NeSDA) rankings, the Government has directed all the concerned departments to promptly address pending compliance issues. “During the meeting, the Chief Secretary reiterated the goal for Jammu and Kashmir to rank first in the country and he has specifically mentioned using social media to disseminate public information about JK Tenders”, sources said.
The discussion also covered the expansion of capacity of Jammu and Kashmir e-Governance Agency (JaKeGA) and clarifying roles within the organization. Further, the Commissioner Secretary IT was directed to take up Information Technology related issues with the concerned Administrative Secretaries for expeditious redressal, sources said.
Regarding land allotment for 4G saturation, the Government has laid stress on quick resolution of pending matters before the next scheduled PRAGATI meeting to be chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Furthermore, the directive has been issued to make any online service that’s currently in the process of development within any department to be made live so that target set for online services is achieved, they further informed.
It is pertinent to mention here that PRAGATI is the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation and aimed at addressing common man’s grievances and simultaneously monitoring and reviewing important programmes and projects of the Government of India as well as projects flagged by State/UT Governments.
Meanwhile, Government has directed all the departments to ensure appropriate redressal of public grievances. Moreover, they have been asked to share the status of tendering/allotment and number of works completed within the office of the Chief Secretary.
As information regarding contracts is still awaited from at least 13 departments, the Government has impressed upon Administrative Secretaries of these departments to submit the information without further loss of time. The Chief Secretary is likely to have a meeting with the departments from whom information is pending in this regard in next few days.