Mumbai: To micro-manage and monitor all development projects and schemes in Maharashtra ahead of assembly elections due later this year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has got a dashboard built for himself — a platform where updated information related to government’s works will be available at the click of a mouse.
The Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Limited (MahaIT), a state government corporation, launched the web-based dashboard — ‘CM’s dashboard’ — a few days ago for a pilot run for the chief minister’s office to see how it works and suggest changes according to requirements, said an official from the state Information Technology (IT) department, who did not wish to be named.
The platform is being developed at a cost of Rs 21 crore, the official said.
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Dashboard to be open to citizens in longer run
The IT official quoted above said the dashboard would have micro details of every government scheme and project.
“The chief minister’s office can minutely review the progress of any work right up to the district level. The platform will also be interactive,” the official added.
“The ultimate aim is to make the dashboard an interface between the citizens and the government, making the information and statistics on the dashboard open to the public. But, we are still several steps away from that. Right now, the domain is functional, but we are still testing it out internally, and departments are in the process of uploading information,” he added.
MahaIT has provided all government departments with a unique log in ID and password to access the dashboard, and has asked every department to appoint an official as a single point of contact to steer the project forward.
Moreover, various government departments and district collectors will be given star ratings based on their performance in adapting to the CM dashboard projects, while non-performers will be issued alerts.
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Fadnavis govt’s push for IT projects
The dashboard will be the latest in a series of IT initiatives that the Fadnavis-led government has taken for monitoring projects and looking into citizens’ requests or complaints.
One of the first few decisions taken by the chief minister’s office in the first year of the government included setting up of a war room, a platform that brings officials from all government departments and agencies in one room to monitor key infrastructure projects and find solutions to hurdles.
The war room included almost 30 infrastructure projects, including showpiece works such as the Metro lines in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, the Mumbai Trans Harbor Link, coastal road and major irrigation projects, among others.
A special mobile application was developed for the CM to keep track of these projects. If a project flashed red, it meant that it had some immediate hurdles, prompting the CM to call or text the officials concerned. If it flashed green, it signaled that its path is clear.
Besides, the Fadnavis-led government has also launched web-based citizen-oriented platforms such as an online portal for filing Right to Information applications, a grievance redressal platform titled ‘Aaple Sarkar,’ and an online Right to Services portal.
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