The Hindu 18.08.2014
Fresh push to e-governance in municipal bodies
Will the Nagercoil municipality or the Vellore municipal corporation be able to provide its services using mobile applications?
The
answer will be in the affirmative once e-governance plans of the
municipal administration authorities fructify. And, the days are not far
off for various urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu to offer a
comprehensive set of services through information technology, says a
senior official.
About 10 days ago, the Municipal
Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department issued an order,
giving the go-ahead for a project to implement a State-level solution
for e-governance in all urban local bodies. However, this initiative
will not include Chennai Corporation, which has a separate plan.
On
a pilot basis, the project will be carried out in the Coimbatore
municipal corporation and a few municipalities. After studying the
outcome, it will be rolled out in the rest of the State. A sum of Rs. 18
crore has been sanctioned.
The proposal originally
forms part of the National Mission Mode Project on e-governance, a
component of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission that
awaits an overhaul under the new BJP government.
To
carry out the project, the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration
has chosen a systems integrator: Bahwan CyberTek, a global provider of
software products and solutions. PwC has been made the project
management consultant.
The Comptroller and
Auditor-General, in its report for the year ended March 31, 2013, pulled
up five municipal corporations for the tardy progress in
computerisation during 2005-2013.
The latest project
envisages web-based applications and interface with geographical
information system (GIS). Different modules are being developed for a
host of functions of the local bodies such as property tax, water
supply, building permission, solid waste management and grievance
redress. Other modules, for schools management and hospital management
systems, will also be formed.
As for the fate of the
existing level of computerisation in different urban local bodies, the
official says this will be absorbed into the proposed e-governance
regime. The main idea is to improve service delivery to the public. The
other objectives include increasing the transparency in the processes;
ensuring seamless flow of information across all levels of the local
bodies; and increasing their productivity.
On the
progress of the project, the official says modules for property tax
collection and birth and death certificates will be ready by January.
The entire project is expected to be completed in a year.