Jammu, July 31: The state Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed has stressed for introducing biometric attendance system in all the government departments in J&K and transaction of all documentation online for a smooth and hassle free governance in the state.
So far so good but the million dollar question that arises is will this only be a rhetoric or a reality as till now we have not seen anything concrete on ground regarding such rosy pictures that have been painted by the successive governments till date.
Mufti lead PDP-BJP alliance government is still in infancy and battle fronts have already been opened at many places. While AIIMS row is threatening to bring it down with BJP all set to lose its ground in Jammu Mufti is no less threatened in Kashmir where militancy is on revival mode and political opponents have already succeeded in penetrating into the mind sets of the people who are now cursing themselves for voting PDP to power.
In such a situation it seems impossible for the current government to implement its innovative schemes in the backdrop of declining popularity of the government among the electorate.
However on the positive side the idea is worth appreciating and will go a long way in digitization of J&K which is very important to take this state to modernity and on the path of progress.
While the talk of digitization has been going on for a long time now the concept has caught the attention of the governments since union government lead by Prime Minister Narenra Modi launched Digital India initiative last month.
It was in this context when the Chief Minister while highlighting the urgent need to bridge the digital divide by using IT services called for broadening the scope of functions at existing Khidmat Centres so that they become rich databank of information and provide dependable community-based services to the people.
Placing high priority on use of IT services in improving administrative efficiency, the Chief Minister also issued directions for implementing Biometric Attendance in Government Departments all over the State.
The Biometric Attendance will ensure presence of employees in Government departments, especially in remote and far-flung areas of the State, thus bringing succor to the people.
Describing people as the principal beneficiaries of e-governance, the Chief Minister directed the IT department to provide them online services, particularly related to police recruitment, information on vacancies in J&K PSC and SSB, as well as obtaining copies of ration cards and power bills, et al, in a hassle-free manner.
The Chief Minister said he will take up the issue of improving bandwidth speed with the Union Telecom Minister, Ravi Shanker Prasad, for enabling the State to provide e-services to the people without any bottlenecks.
The initiative of the chief minister is quite appreciable but what needs to be emphasized is that it should not remain a rhetoric rather it should be converted into a reality come what may so that the state proceeds further from the age old traditional system of governance wasting tones of paper and consuming precious time in settling the day today issues of the people.
The biometric attendance system will surely introduce a work culture that is lacking in the government departments of the state but it would face stiff resistance by the employees which needs to be taken care of in advance.
We as citizens of this state must appreciate the step rather than stalling it as the biometric attendance in government departments would be the first step towards a smart and modern system of governance in the state which would ultimately benefit the whole society.