Photo: Prakhar Pandey
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana…and now it’s the turn of Haryana to introduce e-Panchayat – following the directive of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) to IT-enable rural India, in order to significantly strengthen local governance. The Haryana govt. had decided to adopt and implement e-governance initiatives, believing that this initiative will allow it effectively deliver govt. service at the doorsteps of its citizens. The ball was set rolling recently when the village of Babupur was chosen for the implementation of the pilot e-Panchayat project. The mood is quite upbeat there. Yogesh Yadav, the owner and Principal of B. R. Memorial Public School, believes that the government has taken a very strategic decision in starting the e-Panchayat movement – and especially in their village. "Our village is strategically located, with a large number of real estate projects coming up around us. This e-project will provide an opportunity for the 800 strong population of our village to seek gainful employment. An IT-based information system in the village will impart greater transparency and enable better governance." The DPO, Mr. Anil, says that the e-Panchayat website would be up and running within a month. "Apart from providing them lots of information, the e-Panchayat will also conveniently allow the villagers to give vent to their grievances." T L Satyaprakash, DC, Gurgaon, welcomes the move as an opportunity for development (though he seems a little skeptical about the selection of the village). DDPO Mr Narender, pitches in. "Our village is very well connected and is therefore an ideal location for kick starting the e- Panchayat experience." He strongly believes that this initiative will help usher in all round development and also help tackle the worrisome corruption.
The e-Panchayat scheme is expected to bring about a revolution in the working of gram panchayats, by helping them function like village-level secretariats. It is aimed at equipping rural folk with comprehensive and updated information and ensuring transparency and accountability in governance. Records of birth and death, house tax, pension schemes, SGRY development works and beneficiaries of govt. programmes will be computerised. The e-Panchayat project would provide a range of IT related services, such as decentralised Database & Planning, PRI Budgeting & Accounting, implementation & monitoring of Central and State sector schemes, Citizen-centric services and essential GIS-based applications – as well as being an online self-learning medium for Panchayat functionaries. e-Panchayat has the potential to reposition PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions) as the symbols of modernity & efficiency and help induce a mass ICT (Information Communication Technology) culture. A computerised Management Information System would totally replace the manual information collection system. This would also minimise and save manpower efforts at field level. In Haryana, computers have already been provided to Zila Parishads at the district level, Panchayat Samitis at the Block level and the Engineering Wing. A Computer Cell has been established at HQ level. The Development & Panchayat Department (DPD) is in the process of introducing e-Panchayats for PRIs, which is one of the Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). 12 common core applications, called Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES), have been identified by MoPR, and will be developed centrally. In Haryana the Development & Panchayat Department has identified 2,294 clusters for the 6,081 gram panchayats – a cluster is a group of two or three Gram Panchayats where the infrastructure for the e-Panchayat project would be provided. HARTRON is designated as the nodal agency for the implementation of the project – which will be rolled out in phased manner. In Phase I, 1,000 Gram Panchayats would be covered. As of now, the State has adopted 5 Application Software - namely, PRIASoft, Local Government Directory (LGD), National Panchayat Portal (NPP), Plan Plus (BRGF districts) and Action Soft (BRGF districts). Under the PRIASoft application, voucher entry for 4,229 Gram Panchayats (out of total 6,081) has been started for the FY-2011-12. For the Local Government Directory, the State has completed 92% mapping of gram panchayats with the census villages. The National Panchayat Portal (NPP) has completed the domain registration of all the 21 districts. The training schedule, for 8 software applications of the Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES) has been finalised in co-ordination with MoPR, and some training modules have commenced. Training on 6 software applications - namely, PRIASoft, National Panchayat Portal, Training Management, Service Plus, Plan Plus and SAMM - was completed as early as 2013; training on the remaining two software applications - namely Action Soft and NADD - has also now been completed. Further, all DDPOs have been given the green signal to finalise and complete the training schedule on PES applications through the Master Trainers (who are available in various districts). The establishment of a Project Management Unit, as envisaged by MoPR, has also been rolled out under the auspices of the State Project Management Unit (SPMU) and District Project Management Units. Out of 21 districts in the State of Haryana, District Project Managers (DPMs) in 15 districts have been deployed. The laying of the necessary infrastructure for the implementation of e-Panchayat has begun in right earnest.
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