Perturbed about the slow progress of the e-office project in the Mantralaya, the state is now cracking the whip, making it mandatory for all departments to send files to the chief minister and chief secretary’s office in an electronic format from March 31.
Sources said that of the 51 state government departments, only 16 had switched to the e-office format so far.
The state initiated the plan to go paper-free after a fire engulfed Mantralaya, the state’s administrative headquarters, in June last year, destroying files. The shift was also meant to do away with the need for intermediaries like clerks and peons. The state eventually plans to phase out physical files. However, it has overshot its original January 1 deadline for the shift.
On Tuesday, chief secretary JK Banthia mandated that the chief secretary’s office and departments like general administration, finance, planning, law and judiciary, and information technology should send all files, letters and other references via e-office to all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries and secretaries of Mantralaya departments.
Moreover, from March 31, all Mantralaya departments will have to send new files, references and communication to the chief minister’s and chief secretary’s office and the other departments via e-office. Files being sent in the old physical format will not be accepted.
The state is also rolling out the e-office project in the district collectorates in Sindhudurg, Nandurbar and Jalna. Plans to cover the other district collectorates in the Konkan and the Sindhudurg zilla parishad are in the pipeline.
@dhavalkulkarni
