Shilpa Nag IAS


Karnataka has long been at the forefront of e-governance; One of the major milestones was the implementation of ‘Panchatantra’ over a decade ago. It was one of the most comprehensive e-governance solutions available at the time. Currently, we are working towards ‘Panchatantra 2.0’, which is an expanded and updated version that includes improved citizen services, greater accessibility, and direct communication with citizens via SMS and WhatsApp, shares Shilpa Nag IAS, Commissioner, Rural Development, Govt. of Karnataka with Krishna Mishra of Elets News Network (ENN).

Can you please give us a brief overview of your key focus areas?


The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department in Karnataka is composed of three commissionerates: Rural Development, Panchayat Raj, and Rural Water Supply and Sanitation. As the person in charge of the Rural Development commissionerate, I am responsible for overseeing three significant programs of the Ministry of Rural Development. These initiatives include the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which is the world’s largest employment guarantee scheme, the Rurban mission, and the Sansad Aadharsh Gram Yojana.

The Mahatma Gandhi – National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) program has established a stable Management Information System (MIS) with data visualization tools, MIS reports, and public access to information on various aspects of the program. The program has also integrated the Public Fund Management System (PFMS) and the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) module to enhance its effectiveness.


In Karnataka, the state has made significant progress in adopting technology to address gaps in the national e-governance initiatives, particularly in the planning module. Effective planning is crucial to ensure that every rupee invested in asset creation is utilised appropriately. To improve planning, the state has employed geospatial technologies and is using the Karnataka Geographic Information System (GIS) portal, which contains over 500 layers of information on climate, soil, rainfall, groundwater levels, crops, forest cover, and more. The information is being used to create an NREGA action plan for the first time in the country.

The government has also launched Jal Sanjivani, which involves geospatial planning of Natural Resource Management (NRM) works under MNREGA in Karnataka, using a rich-to-valley and watershed concept. The state is employing multiple technological platforms, including Karnataka GIS and Geo MNREGA for table-top planning and the Clark Mobile App for ground rooting, along with participatory planning and Panchatantra 2.0 for perspective plans. These tools are being used this year for planning under NREGA.

How do you see the potential of low cost technologies in the rural landscape? And, how are you harnessing these technologies to improve citizen interface?

The focus of e-governance is on simplifying citizen touchpoints for availing government services. In the traditional process, citizens had to physically visit government offices, pay fees, apply for the service, and wait for an acknowledgement. However, with the introduction of Bapuji Seva Kendra and Panchatantra 2.0, citizens can apply for services using a mobile app or web portal, receive digital acknowledgements, and track the progress of their service requests until they are ready for collection. This promotes transparency and prevents delays in the process. In Karnataka, citizen service tracking is as simple as tracking food orders on mobile apps, and all payment channels have been integrated for citizens’ convenience.

The government has multiple levels of decision-making, usually limited to three to five hierarchies to simplify the process. Citizen tracking ensures transparency and timely service delivery. The Sakala Act in Karnataka guarantees government services to citizens within a specific timeframe. Acknowledgements are generated online with date and time stamps, and citizens can download and print their certificates or store them in their digital locker. Online ERP systems are employed for planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation in Gram Panchayat administration and governance using Panchatantra 2.0.

In the Rural Development Commissionerate department, governance is based on the principle of making every plan available to the public. This is achieved by notifying the community of planning meetings and gram sabhas where citizens can voice their demands, submit their demands online, participate in meetings, or visit Bapuji Seva Kendra to make their demands. NREGA offers two formats for community work, and citizens can submit a Form Six for demand digitally or through an NGO.

NREGA mandates that work should be provided to a worker within 15 days of submitting an application as per the worker’s right to work under the NREGA Act. This approach to governance promotes transparency and accessibility to the community, eliminating the need for citizens to physically visit gram panchayats. Overall, these measures have significantly improved the system.

On a national level, where does Karnataka stand in terms of implementation of these services?

For quite some time, Karnataka has been leading the way in the field of e-governance. It is exemplified by the Panchatantra project that was launched over ten years ago. This initiative was one of the most comprehensive e-governance solutions at that time. However, we are currently working on an expanded and updated version called Panchatantra 2.0, which will feature citizen services, have greater accessibility, and direct communication through SMS and WhatsApp. This means that citizens can subscribe to receive information or services directly on their mobile devices.

Also Read | Karnataka’s RDPR Department pioneers tech solutions for rural inclusion

In recent years, Karnataka has become the top-ranked state in governance rankings, planning, and GIS tool usage nationwide. With the Jal Sanjivani initiative, the state is utilizing GIS technology to create disaster risk reduction sub-plans, grazing land sub-plans, and wildlife sub-plans, which is a first in the country. By incorporating various datasets, the state can now plan effectively as opposed to departments working in silos.

The government is also working towards involving citizens in the planning process and providing them with transparency in the decisionmaking process. Natural Resource Management (NRM) planning considers climate change and extreme weather events and requests for infrastructure such as vent dams, check dams, roads, and drains. Disaster management is, therefore, a crucial aspect to consider in all developmental schemes and planning.

Moreover, the government is utilizing previously confined technologies and data sets for planning purposes, upgrading technologies, and ensuring that citizens understand the reasons behind various developmental initiatives while seeking their inputs. This two-way process has been happening in all the departments in Karnataka in recent years.

There are multiple departments and agencies that generate data, which may result in data duplication. Is there a possibility of integrating all these data points into a single common data center for easier access and control?

The eGovernance department in Karnataka has launched multiple initiatives, one of which is the KUTUMBA project aimed at creating a family ID database. This database holds socioeconomic information about all the citizens residing in Karnataka, including those living in rural or urban areas. It provides information on the schemes and benefits they are receiving and the government departments they are connected to, all linked to a single Aadhar number, which may also include details like ration card and driving license data. By consolidating all relevant data, this database streamlines the process instead of citizens repeatedly filling out forms with the same information.

However, it’s important to note that consent is always obtained before using Aadhar data, and the information is available for monitoring by the Chief Minister and various department heads. The DPAR e-governance department manages and monitors this aggregated socioeconomic data.

Karnataka has a state-level committee responsible for managing requests for accessing data from a centralized and secure data monitoring center, known as the Karnataka State Data Center (KSDC). This mechanism ensures that there is no unnecessary or unauthorized access to citizens’ data. The data is stored on the KSDC and can be accessed by departments upon request, rather than repeatedly collecting and hosting data on each department’s server. Developers can integrate their software with the KSDC through API integration and purchase the required data, saving costs and resources associated with collecting and securing data.

Also Read | Karnataka’s participatory planning process: A bottom-up approach to equitable development

Another significant reform implemented in Karnataka is the standardization of government departmental websites and hosting. This involves creating standardized guidelines that each department must follow, ensuring lateral and API integration. Mahiti Kanaja is an example of this implementation, providing all publicly required data and eliminating the need for citizens to file RTI applications each time they need information. Unless it is someone’s personal data or falls under the National Official Secrets Act, anyone can access any form of data, making it available in the public domain. As a result, citizens, the media, and anyone else can access and use the data as they see fit. These protocols and transparency protocols are already being implemented.

What are your future priorities?

We are prioritizing the development of climate resilience in rural areas. Given that the majority of India’s population lives in villages, we are working closely with all the villages across the state, including revenue villages, gram panchayats, taluk panchayats, and zila panchayats in all 31 districts of Karnataka. With 65% of NREGA funds allocated to natural resource management works like soil and water conservation and greening, we aim to contribute significantly to grassrootslevel rural asset creation and maintenance, with a particular focus on natural asset creation. We are collaborating with local communities to develop climate resilience, with Jal Sanjivani being a crucial component of this effort.

Looking ahead over the next five to ten years, we are taking both historical and future projections into account when analyzing geospatial data and disaster management. This approach involves not only analyzing rainfall and heat wave patterns from the past century, but also future projections for districts, taluks, and gram panchayats. By anticipating potential climate events, we can better allocate our available funds and resources to identify and implement appropriate measures like drought-proofing and flood management. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that villages do not suffer from the effects of climate change.

Achieving climate resilience requires community participation and demystifying technology to make it accessible for everyone. Our focus is on developing solutions to anticipated problems that are achievable through community participation. We are working to make technology easy to understand for everyone, and initiatives like the Clark Mobile app simplify complex recharge potentiality data into four colors to help individuals identify if their region has good or poor recharge potential, and to determine whether to focus on underground or surface water structures. Ultimately, we want everyone to be partners in creating solutions for their village and surroundings.

 

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