The people of Karnataka can now get residence, income and caste certificates at the click of a mouse or at the touch of a finger. Observing the difficulties faced by the people in applying for a certificate in the manual system, and the long wait thereafter for the certificate, 2009-batch IAS officer Munish Moudgil made the entire process digital, so that it becomes fast, easy and hassle free, and people can download their certificates from anywhere in the word.
In conversation with Indian Masterminds, the officer, who is currently posted as Secretary, Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms, with additional charge of Commissioner, Survey, Settlement & Land Records, talks about the digital issuance system that he has introduced in Karnataka and shares some of his other experiences in e-governance.
REPOSITORY FOR CERTIFICATES
Mr. Munish Moudgil has used digital media on various platforms and set examples of successful e-governance. The digital issuance system in Karnataka introduced under his guidance has not only made the entire process more transparent but also systematic.
The population of Karnataka is more than six crores and every year around one crore caste, income and residence certificates are issued. Earlier, every time a citizen needed such a certificate, he had to apply manually and wait for around 3-4 weeks to finally get it.
However, under the leadership of Mr. Moudgil, the Karnataka administration has now made simplified the process by creating a repository of all collected information. And since the entire process is online, any citizen can download his certificates from anywhere.
The officer informed that in a period of 7-8 years, more than 10 crores certificates were issued. The whole task was exhausting for the public as well as for the people in administration. So, the administration decided to solve it by creating a digital database.
“A team was created who obtained the ration card database and went to every village and every house. With reference to the database, they collected all the information related to the individual’s caste and income with the help of village accountants. All the information were converted into a repository of 5.6 crores certificates. Anyone can now download the certificate from that repository available on the e-procurement portal.”
NATIONAL AWARD FOR E-GOVERNANCE
For successfully implementing this initiative, the officer was awarded with a national award for e-governance. However, like all projects, this one, too, has its pros and cons, and a proper check and balance is necessary to ensure its smooth functioning.
“The digital medium allows the citizen to be independent and, also, reduces the workload of the government. It also ensures the standardization of administration and makes it more transparent. The challenge before us is to make an IT system which is comfortable for everybody. For a long time, we were depended on manual system. So, it is difficult for everybody to be comfortable with the digital medium. Also, the digital medium gives extreme power to an individual. So, it is very important to have proper checks and balances in place.”
DRONE BASED LAND SURVEY
Other than the digitalization of the certificate issuance process, the officer is also known for his efforts to streamline the more than 1.5 crore pending land record surveys. He is working on creating a mobile app that can be used by the surveyor and citizens. He is also doing drone-based land record surveys to create digital records.
“The app is in the last stage. Soon, the surveyor won’t have to use a pen or paper for surveying the lands. The citizen can also sub-divide their land with it after we provide them the digital sketch of their property. Along with it, we are working on drone-based survey starting from Bengaluru city to the rest of Karnataka. The drone can capture the image of land with an accuracy of 5 cm and then the digital sketch of the property along with details of ownership and other information will be created.”
Mr. Moudgil further informed that this is an ongoing project and will they will need another 2-3 years to complete it.
