I am happy that the Bombay Suburban District Unit of the National Informatics Centre has carried its responsibilities well. Not only this, they always deal with problems in a very professional manner, says Mr Uttam Khobragade, Collector, Bombay Suburban District. Mr Khobragade writes on his close association with the NIC Bombay Suburban District (NIC BSD) Unit. Bombay Suburban District, earlier a part of Greater Bombay, was formed on October 4, 1990. With lush green hills, the District is known for its popular tourist spots such as Juhu Beach, Borivali National Park, ancient Kanheri Caves, Gorai Beach, Essel World and Fantasy Land. The Film City and numerous other studios add to the glamour of the District. Bombay Suburb is divided into three talukas and 87 villages.
The NIC BSD Unit started functioning in March 1992. Its foremost tasks were to convince the District Officials of the relevance of the NIC setup and generate computer awareness. In its first year of operation, the District Office BSD Unit organized training programmes to bring the people closer to computers. Subsequently, the emphasis was shifted to computer literacy in order to acquaint the staff with different aspects of the computer — uses, capabilities and limitations. This resulted in the development of a new culture of informatics in the District. Meanwhile, even while site preparation for the District Computer Centre was going on, work had already begun for payroll implementation. Operators were trained, and paybills of the Collectorate and SDO's office were being processed. Eventually, the same work was extended to Tehsil-level offices. Payroll computerization was the first step which helped in creating a computer friendly environment. Implementation of Personal Information System, Land Acquisition Cases, GPR of Class Four Employees and Leave Sanctioning System, helped in boosting the confidence of the district staff in the informatics services of NIC.
To reinforce the computerization drive, two new projects — the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana and Sanjay Gandhi Swavalamban Yojana — were taken in hand. These systems went a long way in providing timely aid to beneficiaries by processing bills, orders, money order lists and acknowledgment lists. Many projects related to information on land have been taken up to further the cause of informatics in the Suburb. These include projects for computerization of Government Land Records, Government Land on Lease, Land Grant Cases and Tribals survey data. Total Land Record Computerization of Property Card has been started under a centrally sponsored scheme to speed up retrieval of land data.
NICNET services have proved indispensable for the District Administration in breaking all distance barriers. The BSD Administration is utilizing NICNET services to transmit district planning reports, revenue statements and data related to freedom fighters, to the state level. NICNET is helping the District Administration in keeping in touch with the entire Nation. With the installation of the NICNET Info Highway and web server, users of the District will soon be surfing Cyber space.
There is no doubt in the fact that NIC was the motivating factor behind the awakening of computer awareness. And today things have moved in a full cycle. The District Administration is now fully aware of the potential of informatics and takes initiative in approaching NIC for various services. An example of this happy trend is the taking up of a project for computerization of Land Revenue Collection. But the work does not end here, and there are miles to go yet. Keeping in mind the competitive nature of the City, the NIC BSD Unit has to provide services at a rate at which the Government can keep pace with changing times. With the promise of computerization reaching the taluka level soon, civil administration will soon take on new dimensions.