e-Suvidha for UP

Aligning itself with the rest of the nation's e-gov momentum, the Uttar
Pradesh (UP) government has finally registered the State Smart City Project unit
as 'e-suvidha', under the Society Registration Act, 1860. The body,
registered as a government society under the department of IT and electronics,
has now attained a legal status and the state populace can now look forward to
different e-gov initiatives, which would be undertaken by the state government
to bridge the digital divide.

The UP government has signed an agreement with the consortium partners-CMS
Computer and Ram Informatics-to manage this project within UP. Interestingly,
both these companies are from Hyderabad and have done commendable work in e-gov
within the state of Andhra Pradesh.

According to the conditions of the agreement signed between these two
companies and the state government, the companies would be responsible for the
day to day functioning of the 'e-suvidha center', situated in the Uptron
building at Gomtinagar, however, the administrative control of the center would
rest with the government.

According to state project coordinator of e-suvidha, Mohan Thakur, "If
all goes as per the state's plans, the project is going to redefine public
service by connecting selected services and information of state, center and
semi-government departments, authorities, agencies, autonomous bodies,
corporations and boards through an Internet based interface".

The departments, which will be connected to the central data hub at
Gomtinagar, in the initial phase, include Lesa, Nagar Nigam, Jal Sansthan, LDA,
Trade Tax and Awas Vikas. While those which will be linked later include the DM's
office, the SSP office, BSNL, railways, passport office, tourism and stamp and
registration office.

"With this kind of infrastructure in place, people of the state will be
able to pay electricity/water bills, tax and simultaneously retrieve information
on the status of the EMIs of a house/plot purchased from LDA or Awas Vikas, get
certification of birth or death, etc and all this can be done under one roof.
The center would also offer facilities for the payment of bills through cash or
cheques," Thakur added.

Zia Askari in Delhi