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eGovernment Forschung seit 2001 | eGovernment Research since 2001

Despite two circulars issued by the department of information and technology (IT), most government and semi-autonomous departments continue to ignore the directives to update their websites. The lackadaisical approach of several government departments not only exposes the government’s tall claims about e-governance but also denies citizens’ access to essential information during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aside from some of the information being outdated, some of the government department websites are non-functional. Websites for the directorate of urban development, information and publicity and fisheries were either down or redirected to other portals.

Though Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserrate’s son, Rohit, was sworn in as the mayor of the capital on March 30, on the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) website Uday Madkaikar continues to be the mayor. That is not the only site where Madkaikar’s reign continues. On the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development website Madkaikar is shown as the mayor while IAS officer Hemant Kumar as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Smart City Mission, even though 2011 batch IAS officer Ravi Dhawan took over in December last year.

In September and December last year, the IT department issued reminders to government departments and government corporations to update their websites and provide information in a time-bound manner.

In February this year, the Investment Promotion Board (IPB) urged government departments to keep the IT department informed about changes to online services, particularly for companies and entrepreneurs such as licenses and clearances, so that IPB can keep investors informed.

In July 2018, then chief minister Manohar Parrikar had asked Goa Electronics Limited to monitor all government websites and to ensure that they are kept updated.

Despite this, a majority of government departments fail to upload notifications and circulars on their relevant websites.

“Section 4 of the Right to Information Act mandates that all information should be uploaded and regularly updated on all government websites,” social activist Aires Rodrigues said. “The lackadaisical approach of the government in not complying with the mandate of the RTI Act defeats the very purpose of the Act which was enacted for the welfare of the masses and meant to usher in transparency in the functioning of government institutions. There is a concern that the websites are intentionally kept non-functional only to deny the public their rightful access to information,” Rodrigues added.

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Autor(en)/Author(s): Newton Sequeira

Quelle/Source: The Times of India, 12.04.2021

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