Date:31/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/31/stories/2008123154950900.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Government plans to expand e-governance projects

Special Correspondent

BangaloreOne success makes Government confident

‘We still do not have a common platform’
‘It is a one-stop solution for citizen services’

Bangalore: The success of BangaloreOne, a platform which provides citizen services in the city, has prompted the Government to extend similar e-governance services to other parts of the State.

This was stated by B.L. Sridhar, Principal Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-governance), during a lecture he delivered at a meeting organised by the Bangalore Chapter of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) here on Tuesday.

Mr. Sridhar said despite being the leader in the area of providing e-governance services to people, the State “still does not have a common platform for the various departments.”

“This is what we are attempting now, to develop a holistic e-governance programme in the State,” he remarked.

Referring to the success of BangaloreOne, Mr. Sridhar said it has become “a one-stop solution for citizen services in the city.”

The value of transactions at the 43 centres in the city, which provide 29 services of 24 departments and utilities, has increased three-fold in the last three months, he pointed out.

Services similar to BangaloreOne will be rolled out soon in Belgaum, Gulbarga, Mysore and Mangalore, Mr. Sridhar said.

Mr. Sridhar said e-procurement is another major area of e-governance which will result in tangible gains.

A “unified platform, which is the only one of its kind in the country, will enable tendering of government works, goods and services in a transparent, efficient and fair manner,” he remarked.

Mr. Sridhar said the Government could save up to Rs. 1,000 crore when the platform is fully functional. “The transparent and secure system is beyond manipulation,” he added. Projects of the departments of Public Works, Health and Education have been implemented through this platform, he said.

To a question whether the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) projects are implemented through the platform, Mr. Sridhar said the BBMP “had not come on board even though we have requested it.”