The world at large has acknowledged the relevance of computers in the context of modern urban set-ups. But when it comes to a rural, agrarian setting, with the economy lagging far behind those of its urban, industry-based counterparts, the place of computers in such an environment, has been a matter of much debate. Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, situated midway between Delhi and Lucknow, is a district which falls in the latter category. Problems are further compounded by infertile land and inadequate irrigation facilities.

As in all other districts of the Country, a District Informatics Centre (DIC) of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) functions in Bareilly also.

National Informatics Centre's answer to the unique problems of rural computerization efforts is the Computerization of Rural Information System Project (CRISP), a project especially designed to meet the needs of rural administrative systems. With the introduction of CRISP in Bareilly, it fell to the lot of the DIO and DIA to help maintain the computer system provided at the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Bareilly, and to supervise the implementation of the CRISP software. With CRISP, the computer system is used to:

  • provide an easy method of generating various reports prescribed by the State and the Centre;
  • create basic records of work and beneficiaries, under various rural development programmes;
  • collect information on villages for planning purposes; and cover programmes under:

a. Integrated Rural Development, b. National Rural Employment, c. Rural Landless Employment Guarantee, and d. Rural Drinking Water Supply.

The economy of Bareilly being agriculture-based, proper maintenance of land records is accorded high priority. The Land Records Management Information System, developed by the Bareilly District Unit of NIC, is a response to this important need of the District Administration. It helps the District Administration to maintain and update land records properly and accurately; retrieve land records information in the desired format for decision making at the village, pargana, tehsil and district levels; evolve ownership records (patta) of the land; develop crop-based land records; and streamline credit facilities through any co-operation bank. The system is assisting in decision-making by generating reports on Khasra, Khatauni and cropping pattern of land.

The introduction of the Ahmednagar pattern of administration in the district of Bareilly called for a large improvement in the system of disposal of pending complaints and redressal of grievances of the public. A study of the Public Grievances Cell in the Bareilly Collectorate revealed some inherent drawbacks. The Bareilly Collectorate receives numerous letters, references and complaints everyday; either asking for direct action, or to be forwarded to some other department. On an average, the Janta Kacheri and the Public Grievance Cell together receive 150 to 200 complaints every month. It was found that though complaints were received and duly registered, there was no systematic organization or monitoring.

The introduction of the computerized Public Grievances Monitoring System, has done away with the disadvantages of the manual system to a large extent.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE GRIEVANCE MONITORING SYSTEM

i. generation of up-to-date, accurate and quick reports and responses; ii. enhanced flexibility which enables the System to accept various combinations of queries (complaint) from the User and generate appropriate responses; and iii. generation of reminders for officers/sections concerned.

A cut in the average delay-time of disposal by 50 per cent and an effective rise in the disposal rate are the indicators of success of the Public Grievances Monitoring System.

The ever-widening influence of computers on all walks of life is demonstrated by the computerized management information system of pensions, implemented in Bareilly. There are nearly 10,000 aged persons, 5,000 widows, 2,000 physically handicapped individuals and 128 freedom fighters who are beneficiaries of the various pension schemes under the State and Central Governments. Because of the large volume of data that had to be handled, a manual system of distribution resulted in delays. The utilization of NIC services and the consequent introduction of computers has enabled the authorities to distribute the pensions on time. In the new system, everybody has been asked to open his/her account in a bank or post office. These account numbers are then fed into the computer which generates the requisite reports to be sent to the respective banks or post offices so that the amount against each account number can be disbursed without delay. Elimination of the repetitive process of manually preparing the payment reports for every term increases the efficiency of the whole system and makes it practically fool-proof.

It was a case of "why not use it at home?". The District Administration decided to have NIC develop an Information System for personnel management of the Establishment Section of the District Collectorate. The outcome was the Personnel Management Information System which is used to monitor the general information of the employees. Being highly flexible, the System is able to accept various combinations of queries and generate reports which suit the requirements of the User. The System maintains the records of nearly 175 Class III employees of the Bareilly Collectorate, and is being used for deciding promotion, efficiency bar, increments, pay fixation etc. of these employees.

The National Informatics Centre is a service-oriented organization. The immediate implication is that its very performance and the efficiency of this performance depends on the response of the Users. At the district level, it is the District Administration's active support and participation which sustains the Organization. The District Informatics Officer and the District Informatics Assistant of Bareilly both acknowledge that the work done so far has been possible only due to the keen interest and active co-operation of the District Administration.

The extensive use of computers in Bareilly is proof enough of its relevance in a relatively rural environment. The effect of computerization has not been restricted to office automation alone; it has reached far beyond. And that, is only the beginning.