Tamil Nadu Assembly getting ready for e-budget presentation

If all goes well, the newly-elected legislators of the Tamil Nadu Assembly will be glued to their desktop computers instead of looking into a booklet when Finance Minister P T R Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presents the first Budget of the DMK government later this month or early August.

The legislators will have to scroll through the PDF document on their screens as Thiaga Rajan flips through the pages reading out his maiden Budget speech as the Tamil Nadu assembly takes baby steps in its ambitious journey towards turning paperless.

Though the plan to move towards a “paperless assembly” has been in the offing for some time, the new DMK dispensation has fast tracked the process. Besides the desktop computers at the desks in the temporary assembly hall at the Kalaivanar Arangam, the MLAs will also be provided with tablet PCs on which they will receive all official communication from the Assembly, including reports.

Sources said the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (ELCOT) has almost finalised a buyer for supplying 240 “all-in-one desktops” and 261 tablet PCs to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (TNLA). The work of installing desktop computers at the desks in the Assembly Hall will begin in the next few days.

The sources said Chief Minister M K Stalin is keen on adapting technology to run the House without depending on paper, though he understands that many legislators will take time to get used to computers. They added that the plan is to present an e-budget this year, though the Assembly Secretariat has plans to print booklets in case any legislator asks for a hard copy.

Confirming the move, Speaker M Appavu told Deccan Herald that efforts were on to present the Tamil Nadu Assembly’s first e-budget and acknowledged that many legislators would need training in handling the gadgets.

“While the goal is to achieve paperless assembly, we cannot rush into things. We are planning to present an e-budget and take things from there. We will also provide training to legislators who need assistance on handling the gadgets. We hope to become a paperless assembly in every sense within the tenure of this assembly,” Appavu said.

A senior government official said the Assembly Secretariat plans to send all communication and reports tabled in the House to the legislators electronically once the tablets are handed over to the legislators. “For the time being, we will provide the hard copy to lessen any inconvenience that may be caused to the legislators. But we will ensure that the transition is seamless,” the official added.