Operators’ stir hits e-dhara cells in Ahmedabad

The work in e-dhara centres has been disrupted across the state on account of a stir by computer operators in the centres. Government officials said it may take around one month to normalise the situation.

The state government had started e-dhara centres in each of the 225 talukas for maintenance and updation of land records, converting physical village land records into electronic form, for accessing and updating or land records, among others.

The operators in e-dhara centres struck work protesting the scaling down of manpower, causing disruption of work in e-dhara centres at most places in the state, barring a couple of districts such as Navsari, Patan and Dangs.

"The work has been disrupted in e-dhara centres in other districts because of operators' stir. Government employees at the respective centres have taken over the work, but the work has been hit. It will take a month or so before the operations in the centres are normalised," said an official in revenue minister Anandi Patel's office.

Officials said work in e-dhara centres in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar had also been affected because of the stir.

The official said around 600 operators had struck work in the state. He, however, pointed out that the government has already decided to do away with the contract system from the next financial year and to appoint government staff as operators instead.

"We had asked the private agencies to gradually cut down the number of operators by March from when government staff would have taken over. The government staff has taken over the work a bit early because of the stir," said the official.

He added that the process to recruit 800 operators has been initiated, and is likely to be completed by April.