July 16, 2015
e-Governance, tech-savvyness rules WB CM’s 100th admin review meet
The 100th administrative meeting at Burdwan on Wednesday , was more of a corporate boardroom than a traditional government review meeting, where files were replaced with PowerPoint presentations and scribbled notes made way for pie-charts and Excel sheets.
West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee’s administration showcased its tech-savvyness as much as its get-it done attitude. Ministers and bureaucrats alike were ready with PPTs and data sheers on their laptops.
The power-packed 150 minutes at Sanskriti Lok Mancha at Burdwan was a reflection of the e-Governance the administration has been boasting of. The Burdwan DM sat with a laptop loaded with PowerPoint presentations of every wing of the administration. Coloured bar charts showed the trends of every scheme in the district.
The West Bengal Chief Minister, who addressed almost half of the district office bearers by name, could point out achievements and trouble areas in every block. She picked five of the 49 police stations as sensitive. “I alerted police officials at Ketugram and Khandaghosh, which have a history of communal tension. I know where it is pinching the administration,“ she said.
All 200 district officials, who have a stock-taking meeting every month and the reports are either in the form of PDF or Excel sheets, had come prepared to face any question. Every official, even at the gram panchayat level, is now equipped with updated progress reports. They normally have video-conferencing twice a week. Moreover, all BDOs, SDO and higher up officials are connected over WhatsApp. So every detail is known to each official of the district
The West Bengal Chief Minister focused more on details of the progress. When officials said 100% girls’ schools now have toilets, she asked them to cross-check the figures “My information says that it is not entirely done and you have 1% left,“ she said. She had separate questions for every MLA. All through, the West Bengal Chief Minister conveyed the message that she means business. “I know there are cases of illegal mining in Asansol. Have we been able to tackle them?“ she asked the SP .
The AITC Digital Team was proactive during the 100th meet with live updates in the form of pictures and news.
