The Times of India
Rural India takes a byte of e-smartness
Aparna Ramalingam
[ Sunday, October 30, 2005 12:18:51 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ] NEW DELHI: It's a byte that's going to get them far. E-governance is making a headway in rural India and already, 90 such projects are under way.
In fact, a report by Skoch Consultancy Services, an IT and telecom advisory firm, says that spending on e-governance projects is expected to surpass Rs 5,000 crore by 2007.
Ask Bhoopal Reddy, sarpanch of Choutuppal village in Nalgonda district, AP, how his village benefited from it. "Previously, it used to take at least three days to locate relevant files in government departments. Now, we can do it in a few hours with the help of software," he says.
His village boasts of an e-panchayat -- a website from where one can download applications and also get information on house taxes, trade licenses, old age and widow pension schemes and land record maintenance. Some of the villagers were in Delhi recently to participate in an e-governance summit organised by Skoch.
Not only can the public access financial statements of the panchayat, but it can also learn agriculture management through CDs, says K Narsimhachary, the computer operator there.
"There is greater transparency and many villagers are interested in learning computers," he says. This e-panchayat has been operational for about six months and the website is in Telugu and English.
K Jagannath, former president, gram panchayat, Belandur district, Karnataka, says e-governance helped them telecast their meetings live. Plus, resolutions at panchayat meetings are available online too, he says.
More than 10,000 people and 2,500 households come under Belandur. The district has the distinction of the highest tax collection by any panchayat -- Rs 3.10 crore last year. Computers there were introduced way back in 1996.
Punjab too is getting e-smart with the Suwidha project. There are 18 e-centres in the state. Under this scheme, there is a single-window clearance for 24 services -- issuance of licenses, passports, handling approvals, pension cases and ration cards. "We plan to replicate this service in 72 districts by the end of the year," says Prabhjeet Singh, systems manager, Suwidha.
"A centralised Suwidha counter has led to reduction in service time." Sikkim too is joining the e-governance bandwagon. It has the Citizen Information Centre housed in panchayat ghars across the state. Commodity prices, job openings, internet banking, online forms -- citizens are benefiting from services provided.
Sameer Kochhar, CEO, Skoch, says that it's imperative for IT to be made an integral part of implementation if ambitious projects likethe Rural Employment Guarantee Plan and the Right to Information Act have to take off.