*Views seriously slackness on part of many deptts
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 8: In order to ensure accountability of the bureaucrats as well as the Ministers, the Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has directed all the Administrative Secretaries to effectively use File Tracking System in their respective departments in the Civil Secretariat, which has already been designed by the National Informatics Centre to order to ensure timely disposal of the cases.
The directive is in sequel to the statement made by the Chief Minister while interacting with the Administrative Secretaries soon after taking oath on April 4. On that day, she had stressed for expediting the file disposal across the departments and asked the Chief Secretary to further improve the file management system.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Chief Minister has come to know that several years back National Informatics Centre (NIC) had designed the File Tracking System (FTS) and numerous instructions were issued from time to time stressing upon the Administrative Secretaries to make optimum use of the system. However, only few departments were making use of the FTS but that too not with all the required seriousness.
The non-serious approach in making use of the File Tracking System was notwithstanding the fact that this methodology was not only aimed at ensuring expeditious disposal of the cases, which otherwise remains a grouse of the people visiting the Civil Secretariat with different cases, but is also a tool to make the officers as well as the Ministers accountable.
In this backdrop, the Chief Minister has issued directions to all the Administrative Secretaries to ensure optimum use of the File Tracking System in the Civil Secretariat so that decisions are taken in a time-bound manner and all files are disposed off at the earliest, sources said, adding the Administrative Secretary of the Information Technology Department has initiated the steps to make the system functional in all the departments and File Tracking System is likely to become operational within next few days.
It is pertinent to mention here that File Tracking System is a web-based application to monitor the pendency of receipts and files and assist in their easy tracking. It is actually an integrated package which has features right from diarizing of receipts/files, updating its status, opening of new files, tracking the movement of files, dispatch of letters/files and finally records management.
The application has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) based on the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedures of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.
According to the sources, Chief Minister will personally monitor the File Tracking System in some departments after receiving information from the Information Technology Department about restoration of system in all the departments in Civil Secretariat.
“This would be a first step towards giving clean and responsive governance to the people as File Tracking System would help in ascertaining the delay—be it at the level of either Ministers and Administrative Secretaries or down the line”, sources said, adding “Chief Minister doesn’t want people to suffer because of delay in disposal of files in the Civil Secretariat”.
According to the sources, Chief Minister has told categorically to the Administrative Secretaries that they should not be complacent by ensuring timely disposal of files at their level and it becomes their responsibility to ensure clearance of files at all the levels in their respective departments.
When contacted, Commissioner/ Secretary, Information Technology Department, Hirdesh Kumar confirmed that directions have been issued by the Chief Minister for strictly using File Tracking System in all the departments in Civil Secretariat.
“As per the orders of the Chief Minister, we are also exploring the options of introducing e-office in the Civil Secretariat, which ultimately would be a step towards ensuring paperless work”, he said, adding “this, however, will take some time and Information Technology Department would initiate required steps towards this direction very shortly”.
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