Back To Square One!

It is really intriguing that the government’s tall claims and announcements of providing digital services to the citizens at their cozy places have fallen flat as reportedly 91 Government department websites in Jammu and Kashmir are out of public access after being made non-operational in May this year. Not more than two years have passed since the J & K government declared that it has achieved a significant milestone and remarkable feat in e-governance by providing over 1028 services in online mode for citizens, institutions, and business establishments. This was also endorsed in the National e-services Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) report released by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India in September 2023 that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has secured the topmost position with an impressive 1028 e-services, surpassing Madhya Pradesh with 1010 e-services and Kerala with 911 e-services. It is unfortunate that instead of moving forward, the indifference of the government in J&K has brought things back to square one as one can gauge well the situation on ground with 91 government websites flickering towards oblivion. Reportedly, as per an official response under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, these websites are not operational due to the absence of the mandatory ‘Safe to Host’ security certification. The assertions made by the government that by going digital it has showcased its resolve to provide ease, convenience and accessibility of services to the common man ushering in a new era of digital governance have all become meaningless with scores of website becoming non-operational and the people at helm giving no timeline that when these will again start running and resolving the problems of the people. It is a really bad time for the people of J&K, who have to rely on defunct digital platforms for welfare schemes, recruitment notifications, tenders, and public grievances and services besides so many other necessary services. What is more agonizing is the fact that reports published in the media have been suggesting that no one in the government has the clue that when these websites will be restored as bottlenecks which have created this problem are standing tall and those bound to remove them belong to same lethargic class of government employees who seldom care about people’s worries.