How the concept of E-Governance will reduce corruption in Manipur ?

By:- Aeroshil Nameirakpam *

Manipur Census is projected to start from 15th June as a part of the All India Census 2011 which is projected to be the largest census ever attempted.Some informations will be asked from every citizens and they have classified into 2 categories.

The first relates to the Houselisting and Housing Census. In this, 35 questions relating to Building material, Use of Houses, Drinking water, Availability and type of latrines, Electricity, possession of assets etc. will be canvassed.

The second form relates to the National Population Register. In thats the population and demographic information will be canvassed.

The National Population Register would have the data of every person enumerated during the Census operations irrespective of age. It would also have the biometric data and UID Number of every person of age 15 years and above.This means the government is going to have information and maintain a database of all 15 years and above people in Manipur and will be able to track all information about them through UID number.

Every citizens will have to use this number for filing taxes,applying for services and grants, online polling, voting, and campaigning,passport application, criminal background check, credit history check and many more government related work that would be possible be to done online without stand in long Government office queues.

The Definition of E-governance says it is the application of Information technology (IT) for atomization and real time online update of information for the government related processes and functions to bring about Smart Moral Accountable Responsive Transparent government or SMART Government.

The e-governance principle that is going to bring about SMART Government will have a direct impact on how our Manipur goverment functions and is governed.Corruption which is one of the plague that had ruined our society can be directly put under control and monitored so that the Politicians , executive and bureaucrats can not practice it.

This is one of the only ways by which we can control this plague from spreading in our society. Introduction of e-governance will directly or indirectly affect every individuals in manipur in various aspects and will definitely inprove on free and fair governance practices and thereby improve the overall life of the common man.

Some of the ways in which introduction of e-governance will improve our society making it immune from corrupt politicians and bureaucrats according to Prof. Sangeeta Sharma , Rajasthan university are : -

1) Technological Component - Concepts like Database, Data warehousing, information warehousing helps governments predict the future by analyzing the historical data and getting intelligent information out of it helping in intelligent decision making.Such systems are already in use in US government county and helps a lot in predicting the future.Introducing such technology will help in reducing mistakes and facing consequences later on. Moreover, manpower will be required to operate such systems thereby creating a pool of government jobs meant for IT and ITES which has shown to have a very high potential of generating a lot of employment.

2) Social Component - The fundamental duty of any government is to reduce a society which is based on the principles of equality and justice. A society which is classless with no distinction between haves and haves-not, where nobody is marginalized from the main stream , and is committed to provide a respectful essence of life to its people without any discrimination of cast or race must be set up.

This is possible when people will be aware of their rights & duties on the one hand, and know about the governmental policies made for them on related issues on the other, hence a vigilant society can be evolved where they can raise their voices by questioning the governmental decisions.This can be made possible only when there is a platform for the citizens to interact with and influence the government descision making process and it is greatly facilitated by e-governance.

3) Cultural Component - e-governance will directly affect the total work culture of our government. Long standing queues in front of government offices, paying bribe to officials,felony and all these negative issues which has plagues our government will change for good.

Citizens will be directly able to go online and do most of their government related services and this will inturn create an urge of joining the technology revolution that is happening around and we as manipuris can come out of the dark ages. youngstars and news generation will get more encouragement to be more tech savy and even older generation will have to become tech savy to perform theirs activities.

It pains my heart to see veteran retired employees stand long queue to take their monthly pension and be at the mercy of government employees for their share of the monthly pension. Instead knowledge of online banking and online transaction will definitely help in reducing some of their pain.

4) Political Component - pushing information over the Internet, e.g: regulatory services, general holidays, public hearing schedules, issue briefs, notifications, etc.are a part and parcel of any governmental functioning. e-governance will make it possible for common man to directly access the regulations and polices of the government and directly improve our political system by making it more transparent and open access to all. This will surely improve the accountability factor of the government and improve the long lost trust factor of the public with the government.

5) Psychological Component - Developing required psyche so as to facilitate formation and inculcation of right type of attitudes in the people is prerequisite for efficiency. Apart form this; readiness to connect to people, to listen to their queries, to look for solutions, to improve communicative skills etc. will be necessary elements for behavioral modifications. Hence personality adjustments must be carried out to cater to the needs of common man.

6) Service Component : The ultimate function of any welfare government is to serve. As a provider of good services to its people it has to assimilate the basic needs and also expectations of common man in to the documentation of policy, which then has to be implemented in the right spirit.

This develops a constant pressure on the government to respond to public demands as this leads to the realization of power they can exercise on government to maintain impartiality, integrity and transparency in its functioning.

Hence because of the following reasons i definitely feel we should capitalize on this census and help implement e-governance in manipur and help bring about some change in our non-functional and corrupt government thereby help manipur come out of the dark age and face the world in 21st century.