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Krishnagiri district is set to embark on an ambitious plan to transform itself into
a modern economy taking advantage of its location and the latest trends in Information
Technology. A vision Hosur Project has been envisioned and is awaiting clearance
at the highest level. The expectations of the people are also high in view of the
many projects and schemes taken up by the administration since the inception of
the district in 2004.
The District Administration proposes to usher in a state of transparent, efficient
and people friendly administration of the levels seen in western economies. Mere
computerization will not bring about this transformation; there is need for a complete
mindset change among all Government employees. This is the challenge, but not an
entirely impossible task to achieve. Given the right leadership, motivation, training
and inspiration, this is very much possible.
Life is but a potpourri of challenging situations and constant changes. Indeed,
it is paradoxical to say "Constant Changes", for changes can't be constant, but
the truth is, "change alone is constant in this life of ours." However, in reality,
challenges and change from the routine seem to be an unwelcome guest, leaving a
person in bewilderment.
How relevant is change to our Government Office? In the midst of technological advancements,
which facilitate expeditious disposal of Office business, and the increasing expectations
from our Citizen's for faster delivery of services, the existing office system is
a blind alley. The existing office procedures also have created a 'bureaucratic'
mindset in out staff that goes against the very concept of "Citizen is the King".
As pro-active leaders, it is our duty to change this mindset and mould them as proactive
contributors in the changed paradigm. This requires not only a new system and continuous
motivation, but also a new office atmosphere. This is the overriding principle of
this proposal. Thankfully, it is easy to introduce this at the upcoming collectorate
in the beginning itself.
Bureaucracies over periods of time have had its relevance. The present system evolved
during the Industrial Revolution. It grew in size with the size of the population
and so did maze of rules and regulations and procedures, not necessarily leading
to a better service delivery. Transactions costs involved in moving a file from
one level of the hierarchy to another, grew exponentially. Thus departments and
agencies working compartmentally and often at cross-purposes evolved.
Any Government Office in India evokes the following feelings: Place littered with
files and papers, corruption, unclean atmosphere, offensive, unhelpful and demotivated
staff. The file and the "red tape" have come to symbolize governance. The file is
at the heart of any government office in India, as they all work as per the Tottenham
system of administration. The idea is to take away the "red tape" literally and
replace it with an electronic file
The shift from a traditional form of governance to an electronic one is challenging
with great potential for change and at the same time fraught with serious consequences.
The change should take place without disturbing the system, morale of the staff
or attracting a backlash from entrenched interests. The change over has to be smooth
and balanced. . Many such initiatives fail because the change management involved
is given the go by in the euphoria of having installed a great Software. Hence,
more than attempting a Government Process Re-engineering, I was and is of the firm
opinion that for any e-governance initiative to succeed, it is very important that
we undertake a very serious change management initiative by preparing the stakeholders
psychologically and leading them as a team. Once the stakeholders become comfortable
with the system, any amount of process re-engineering can be done. This model can
be adopted in any Government office in India, which works under the Tottenham system
of Office Administration.
The TNCDW Ltd - a wholly owned Corporation of Government of Tamil Nadu had earned
the sobriquet of the "first paperless Government office in Tamil Nadu" by the introduction
of a paperless office software that is based on the "Tottenham System". This has
been a hugely successful change management and became institutionalized in 2001
that has continued uninterrupted and was wholly accepted and owned by one and all.
As said earlier, the file and the "red tape" have come to symbolize governance.
The file is at the heart of any government office in India, as they all work as
per the Tottenham system of administration. The speed of movement of the file really
determines the pace of the administration. Unfortunately the system has become corrupt
and has become a nightmare for the citizens. Hence it is imperative that this 'backend'
of governance be tackled first before entering into the 'front end' of delivery
of service to citizens. Thus a serious G2G initiative alone can bring in efficient
G2C delivery of services. This is what we have attempted at the Tamil Nadu Corporation
for Development of Women Ltd in 2001 and what we are trying to do currently at Krishnagiri.
Rs.2.67 crores has been sanctioned to Krishnagiri district by the GoI.
The proposal has three main objectives
- Creating paperless file management system in all Government Offices.
- Computerization of all processes in all Government Offices.
- E-Governance activities (Citizen Services) at the Village Panchayat, Town Panchayat
and Municipality levels
- Developing a district collectors Management Information System (MIS).
Courtesy. www.krishnagiri.tn.nic.in
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