Govt offices to go paperless soon

The State government is all set to go paperless with the much talked about e-office project.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) is developing the ‘e-office’ software with specifications required for the implementation of the project in the State.

Though making government offices go paperless has been in the talks for over a decade, since S M Krishna’s tenure as chief minister, not much was done.

Officials at the e-governance department – the nodal agency for the project’s execution – said the project will be implemented on a pilot basis starting with the Kannada and Culture Department. Later, it will be extended to other departments, they said. The project is part of the Centre’s National e-Governance Plan by the Department of Information Technology.

 Under the e-office project an electronic system will replace the manual process of file creation and disposal, said the officials. While this electronic process partially exists in the State Secretariat, the e-office system is streets ahead by integrating government documentation like polices, acts, forms regulations, circulars and guidelines, the officials said.

The issue of decisions and government notifications will also be done electronically. Employees in an e-office can also apply for and receive leave approval electronically among other facilities.

As the entire system runs on an automated system the office will be paperless and is expected to increase efficiency and transparency in government offices. Important circulars, policy regulations, guidelines, departmental letters and orders will be available in electronic format for quick reference.

Movement of files will be easier to monitor and ensure transparency, the officials said.
One of the success stories of the e-office project is in Rajasthan, where the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) became the first government office in the state to go paperless.