Mumbai: Saying there’s an ongoing “loot” of government coffers under the guise of hiring consultants for various works, the Maharashtra government’s IT department has mandated all departments to submit information about all consultancy contracts and their payments.
To this end, Maharashtra IT minister Ashish Shelar amended a government resolution on consultants, saying that many consultants who work with various departments of the government are empanelled through the IT department, but MahaIT receives no further information about their appointments or payments.
“As a result, there is no clarity on which agency or individual is appointed or the honorarium or remuneration they are paid, or other details. This will put a stop to the loot carried out under the guise of consultancy services,” the press note from the department says.
As per the 2018 Government Resolution, that was later revised in 2023, consultants were to be appointed based on departmental requirements, projects and programmes. However, it was found that 6 empanelled agencies has deployed 246 individuals across different departments of the state government.
Their remuneration and salaries are being paid by the respective departments, the IT department has no control over them.
The press releases says, some consultants are working in multiple departments and earning “four to five times higher remuneration under the title of supervisor. This is nothing short of a massive loss to the state exchequer, an unjust burden and blatant loot.”
The IT Department has decided to create a dedicated centralised portal for all consultancy services. As per the new rules, all departments will have to furnish complete details of the consultants engaged.
If any consultant fails to deliver or if a department withholds information, strict measures will be taken against them. “This decisive step will ensure accountability and prevent misuse of public funds,” said IT Minister Ashish Shelar.
The government is also working on the Golden Data Maha Samanvay project, a compilation of details of government scheme beneficiaries. “We have collected around 15 crore data records, of which nearly 5-6 crore have been verified. Work on 144 attributes has been completed. I have issued instructions to complete certain steps before the system goes live or alongside obtaining its UID certification,” Shelar said.
The project includes an awareness system once the MahaIT generates citizen data, to notify citizens as needed.
The minister also wants a robust firewall/safety wall to invalid changes on the portal. He also wants an AI-powered search engine built into the Maha-Samanvay portal to enable data analysis by departmental authorities for advanced analysis and to derive actionable insights.
While speaking about the WhatsApp citizen service initiative, Minister Shelar said, “Serving citizens is our foremost duty. As per the directives of CM Devendra Fadnavis, citizen services, provided as a right, will now also be accessible via WhatsApp under the agreement with Meta.”
Shelar further explained that the first 100 services are being provided through the appointed vendor. However, it must be reassessed whether the vendor’s system can handle over 1,000 sessions or hits per second.
As per the CM’s directives, the goal is to provide 1,000 services via WhatsApp. After the initial 100, the remaining services should be managed by a new vendor through an updated RFP (Request for Proposal). The new vendor must be capable of delivering services swiftly and efficiently so that citizens can access them on WhatsApp with minimum delay.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)