NIC East Khasi Hills District Centre was established way back in 1989 to provide technical and infrastructural support for the implementation of various eGovernance initiatives in the District, thereby providing for better services to citizens.
NIC East Khasi Hills District Centre has established itself as a state-of- the-art ICT system provider to various departments and stakeholders under the District Administration for enabling transparent G2G and G2C services by utilising emerging technologies for the benefit of different socio-economic sectors.
ICT Initiatives in the District Being at the State’s Capital and Commercial Centre, Shillong, NIC East Khasi Hills District Centre is engaged in a variety of activities. It should be noted that the majority of apps are initially piloted here before a complete state-wide rollout. The following is an overview of some of these apps:
MRSSA App The Government of Meghalaya enacted the Meghalaya Resident Safety & Security Act (MRSSA) 2016 with the purpose of safeguarding and enhancing the security of citizens of the state by conducting a thorough inspection of all tenants residing in the state. Its primary objective was to monitor and enable control mechanisms to check the influx of illegal migrants. The State Government, in partnership with NIC, has designed a web app that will allow citizens (landlords / tenants) to register themselves under MRSSA Act, subject to verification by the local authorities.
Land Registration / NGDRS The Meghalaya Land Registration app was started as a pilot project in the District. Since then, it has made the whole system more transparent and efficient. A person can now query the amount of fees and stamp duty for the registration of the property in advance. Thereafter, the applicant prepares the deed on non-judicial stamp paper based on the pre-calculated value. A receipt / token bearing a Temporary Registration Number is issued. When all documents are in order, Temporary Registration Number is converted to a Permanent Registration Number.
Land Records Computerisation It is a web-based system developed by NIC for the Government of Meghalaya. As of now, only Mutation Module for leasing land has been deployed in the State. The DC Office maintains land records while spatial data is taken care of by the Department of Land Records. Inclusion of users from the Survey Department as workflow players ensures a seamless integration between the DC Office and the Department of Land Records.
Public Distribution System NIC District Centre has helped the Administration in discharging the responsibility of Public Distribution by ensuring the following: • Digitised ration cards through Ration Card Management System (RCMS) using the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data • Implemented online allocation module using Food Essential Commodities Assurance Security Target (FEAST) app • Automated Fair Price Shops (FPS) using electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices • Created One Nation One Ration Cards for ration card holders to get their supply of food grains from any FPS in the country • Operationalised toll free helpline number 1967 and Public Grievance Redressal System for public grievances
eDistrict eDistrict provides an end-to-end computerisation of citizen-centric services offered by the DC Office. Citizens can avail these services by simply utilising the web app or visiting the local community service centre or public facilitation centre at the DC Office.
DSC App Direct Selection Committee (DSC) App is a comprehensive Online Recruitment Application System developed for local job aspirants to apply for various government jobs online as notified by the District Administration. Besides registration, it facilitates the payment of recruitment examination fees using the eGRAS system. In addition, a help desk system is also set up to facilitate candidates on various recruitment- related issues. The app has reduced the footfall of the aspirants in the DC Office to a very large extent.
General Elections NIC District Centre provides extensive support to the Election Commission and the District Administration towards the conduct of General / State / Local Council elections during all the stages of the election process. It plays a vital role in the capacity building of all ICT-enabled applications as a master trainer, alongside handholding the user data on various web-based and mobile-based applications. Some of the activities performed by the District Centre are set up of hardware and LAN services at Polling Stations and Counting Halls, SMS monitoring, and Cyber Security.
Isawanda Laloo, IAS District Magistrate & Deputy Commissioner East Khasi Hills The NIC East Khasi Hills District Unit has played a commendable role in the implementation of various eGovernance projects and in providing Technical Support to different ICT Initiatives to the District Administration. It has played a crucial role in bringing governance closer to the people by ensuring prompt, effective and timely delivery of public services. The various initiatives have also been pivotal in streamlining work-flow and in bringing success in eGovernance in the district as a whole. I wish the NIC the very best in their future endeavours.
District Website (https://eastkhasihills.gov.in) NIC District Centre with inputs from the District Administration has designed and developed an official website for dissemination of information on public utilities, citizen services, administrative structure, and recruitments across the district. The website is regularly updated and built on the S3WaaS platform.
COVID-19 Support NIC District Centre played a vital role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. From establishing a Data Collection Centre to Information Dissemination, following are some of the services provided by the Centre: • Establishment of Data Collection Centre: A Data Collection Centre was set up in the DC Office to compile details of incoming and outgoing travellers for monitoring purposes. • Issuance of eCurfew Pass: An eCurfew Pass system was setup to facilitate passes to citizens facing medical emergencies during lockdowns. The Centre also provided support to the District Administration in delivering functional hardware for issuing these passes. • VC Service Support: The District Centre provided full support to conduct VC sessions between the DC Office and various State Departments and made sure that VC services ran uninterrupted. • Updation of Website: A section on the official district website was created for the regular dissemination of authentic COVID-19 related information. • Training on various apps: Training on Rapid Antibody Test of India (RATI), RT-PCR Mobile App, and Aarogya Setu were imparted to various government personnel.
Other Initiatives Following ICT projects are also monitored and supported by the NIC District Centre • Scheme Management Information System • Excise Permits Issuance Portal • National Database of Arm Licenses (NDAL) • Online RTI Application Portal • eProsecution • Online Citizenship
Way Forward NIC East Khasi Hills aims to introduce and implement innovative eGovernance solutions for increased output and efficiency in order to provide better and more effective service delivery to the citizens of the district.