That transparency is needed to ensure good governance is an irrefutable truth. And the most potent tool to ensure transparency in governance is through the use of technology. The Digital India flagship program launched in 2015 gives a glimmer of hope as it envisions to ensure the Government’s services are made available to citizens electronically. How effectively it is pursued is a different question altogether, but the launching of the program itself proves the premise that technology ensures transparency is true.
Unfortunately, it is sad to notice that the program for using electronic technology to make the government’s services available to the citizens have not percolated down to the district level. The state government of Nagaland does have some services offered online or information available and open to the public via various portals but there is none at the district level. The only government portal that was live while writing this column was www.mokokchung.nic.in maintained by NIC, content owned by the district administration. Even this portal was last updated on November 27, 2021. While it is worthy of appreciation, for at least some effort has been made, there is plenty of room for improvement and it can be made more comprehensive and interactive.
It will not be out of place here for the people of Mokokchung to demand a Deputy Commissioner’s dashboard where all necessary information and data will be made openly available to the public by each department, content provided by the respective departments, including information on funds received. Or, the existing district portal maintained by NIC can be transformed to the Deputy Commissioner’s dashboard. This transition can be affected by a simple executive decision of the Deputy Commissioner himself or can be placed as an agenda in the District Planning and Development Board.
So much can be done with the use of technology, internet and digitization to usher in transparency to ensure good governance.