Digital Goa Issue 91 December 2013 Dec 2013 | Page 6

www.digitalgoa.com

1 to 31st December 2013

E-Governance is a
powerful tool for
G-Governance
C
hief Information Commissioner (CIC)
of Goa , Leena Mehendale spoke to
Digital Familys Sangeeta Naik on EGovernance and the also the state of Government websites via a vis section 4 of the RTI
Act 2005. A former Indian Information Service
officer of 1974 batch (Maharashtra), Mehendale
has served at positions like Collector, Sangli &
MD, WMDC, Commissioner, Settlement Commissioner etc. She has also authored 24 books,
including six on administration. Due to her vast
experience in handling bureaucracy at different
levels she could exactly pinpoint the bottlenecks
in the government systems.
What is your perception of E-Governance?
E-Governance is a powerful tool for G-Governace i.e. Good Governance. Therefore, its
significance should be comprehended by every

There are quite a few people in this
system too who have the urge to give
their best. But procedures and protocols here tend to have a curtailing
effect.
stakeholder in governance. It is important that
every person from the system knows computer
handling to deploy this tool for G-Governance in
the most effective manner possible.
What is your take on non-compliance by
the state government to repeated deadlines
set by the center for RTI Act 2005 section 4
guidelines implementation w.r.t. content on
state Government Websites?
These kinds of deadlines can be adhered to if
and only if all the links in the work chain perform
as per prescribed specifications.
The middle level in government administrations fails to provide the right kind input to the
higher levels. There could be several reasons
for this- lack of training, apprehensions and fear
to use technology, lack of ownership, and even
lethargy at times.
As the top levels don’t receive requisite inputs
in a timely manner it becomes difficult to compile
and disseminate such information in the public

domain.
Higher levels on their part fail to
understand and effectively cater to the
training and other technology related
requirements of the middle level and the
deadlock continues.
Can you suggest some feasible
mechanisms which could help bring
about some positive change in these
seemingly stiff systems?
Only when accountability is properly
distributed and realized by everyone in the work
chain will Good-Governance happen. Proper
mechanisms to measure outputs should be put
in place.
There are quite a few people in this system too
who have the urge to give their best. But procedures and protocols here tend to have a curtailing effect. Additional efforts need to be made to
locate such government officers/employees who
are efficient and willing to work and give them
a free hand wherever possible. They should be
allowed to use their urge to do their best.
Most importantly there has to be effective
leadership which can guide and motivate them
properly. Innovative incentives (which need not
always be monetary) could be tried out to motivate employees. We could start practices like
felicitating employees who performs the best for
a particular month, put up his/her name of the
notice board or website. In short making add on
efforts to acknowledge and appreciate those who
work dedicatedly so that others are motivated to
follow suit.

When it comes to the issue of quality
of work culture its best in Karnataka
, good in Maharashtra but sadly I did
not find it upto the mark in Goa.
Can concepts like outsourcing that are
tried and tested in corporate setup be used
to help boost the effectiveness of government
systems?
Concepts like outsourcing which can work
very smoothly in private setup fail miserably in
Government environment for one simple reason

Middle level is savvy with policy
frameworks but apprehensive about
using technology. If I say I know
more tasks will be assigned to me, and
‘not my job’ attitude also contribute
further.
– there is lack of ownership in Government
systems. I am not responsible but someone else
is - is the general attitude. Employee outputs are
not properly measured and kept tab of. Accountabilities also are not assigned appropriately.
By and large outputs are measured on the ability to spend the allocated budgets. Those who
utilize the budgets fully get most outstanding
reports. Answers to questions like how, when and
why is the budget spent and is the desired output
achieved are given least significance.
What if we automate as many processes as
possible?
General mentality is, if groups of people are
not working properly replace them with a machine. But that increases the problem instead of
solving it. Machines should support the staff and
not replace them.
Wh