New portal of RDPR dept to monitor infra projects

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department will launch a new portal to usher in transparency in the implementation of infrastructure projects.

The Gandhi Sakshi Kayaka portal (http://gsk.kar.nic.in), to be launched on October 3, will henceforth be the nodal point to clear any bills for projects taken up by taluk panchayats, gram panchayats, Karnataka Rural Road Development Agency, Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited and Panchayat Raj Engineering department.

“The website will ensure that bills cleared for infrastructure projects are monitored in a transparent manner. Only if a project is completed, with photographic proof and linked to Google maps, will the system allow the bills to be cleared by the department,” said Minister for RDPR H K Patil. The web address will be finalised in a couple of days.

The website will be open to public for registering complaints and suggestions on infrastructure projects taken up in any of the 5,600 panchayat jurisdictions.

“The portal provides an opportunity for people to give their suggestions on projects which are underway or completed by the agencies in rural areas. It opens up the RDPR infrastructure projects to public scrutiny and keeps the department on its toes. It is a perfect way to commemorate the birth anniversary of Gandhi who believed in villages being the future of the country,” said Patil.

The department will first upload the approval files and tender documents of all projects commissioned. Details of each project will periodically be entered online with its progress as per location co-ordinated with the help of global positioning system (GPS) and Google maps.

On completing each phase, the department will enter the status of the project for release of funds to the contractor. Only if the photographic evidence is uploaded on the website and linked to the map location will the funds be released in correspondence to the bills produced.

“We will have a control room in Bangalore, wherein the projects can be monitored on a regular basis by a third party. It will be an auditing process which will be transparent and open to the public,” said Patil.

The department has given data entry training to no less than 6,000 of its officials to embark on the project. Till date, it has entered data online, pertaining to 11,000 projects worth Rs 3,030 crore.