Shimla, popularly known as the “Queen of Hills”, is the capital of Himachal Pradesh. It is famous worldwide as a popular tourist destination. Shimla has witnessed many historical events during British rule and in post-independence period. The town of Shimla is built over several hills and connecting ridges. The elevation of the district ranges from 300 to 6000 metres. The topology of the district is rugged & tough and 70% area of the district is in the snow line.
Since its establishment in 1988, the NIC District Centre, Shimla has played a pivotal role in spreading IT across the district. It has provided technical support to the District Administration & various departments and is also involved in software development, implementation of various National and State level IT Projects. District Centre has latest ICT infrastructure and robust network for better delivery of services. The centre also has 34Mbps lease line connectivity. A District e-Governance Society has been created by the administration for the delivery of citizen services at sub divisions and tehsils through Sugam Centres. Technical manpower has been placed in each centre for smooth functioning.
DINESH MALHOTRA, IAS Deputy Commissioner The District Centre of NIC at Shimla is doing excellent work in association with District Administration in spreading IT culture in the Collectorate and Revenue Offices at sub-division and tehsil level. It is through e-Governance that we can bring transparency and efficiency in administrative system and can serve the society effectively. Shimla Administration is pioneer in this direction and have setup Sugam Centres at all the Revenue Offices in the district. I would like to have a paperless office in future.
KEY ICT SERVICES • Citizen Centric Services through SUGAM Centres The SUGAM Centres are operational in Collectorate, Sub-Divisions and Tehsil offices. The main objective of these centres is to provide hassle free and quality services to the citizens under one roof. The main services provided are: • Driving License Issuance and renewals • Vehicle Registration and related works • Issuance of Land Records, Nakals • Payment of Electricity Bills • Issuance of 14 type of certificates like bonafide, agriculture etc • Registration of deeds • Registration of voters • Issuance and renewal of Arms License • Issuance of Senior Citizen Cards • Issuance of Disability Cards • Issuance of Permits • Aadhaar Registration and issuance of duplicate Aadhaar Cards
• Land Records Computerisation The HimBhoomi project has been implemented in all the 18 tehsils of the district. The project has benefitted the revenue staff in timely preparation of records and public has been facilitated by easy availability of RORs at Tehsil Sugam Centres or at the LMKs (Lok Mitra Kendras). The ROR is generated in real time by accessing the tehsil servers. Citizens have been granted access to view the land details.
Sugam Centre at DC Office, Shimla
• Registration of Deeds Himachal Registration Information System (HIMRIS) is operational in all the 18 tehsils of the district. All types of deeds are registered by the system laden with features to capture biometrics data. The input data is validated with online land records data before the deed gets registered. The HIMRIS software is integrated with land records; transactions related to property are recorded immediately on the land records database and reflected in the ROR. The SRO offices are now able to return the registered documents on the same day and this has enhanced their work efficiency.
• Arms Licensing (http://admis.hp.nic.in/shastr) The arms license software, e-Shashtr, is operational in the collectorate and sub-divisions of the district. The software is web based and role based. The license once entered in the system can be validated online. The software has feature of capturing biometrics and auto generation of SMSes. The Arms Licence is issued in the shape of passbook and every endorsement is made in it by the use of a passbook printer.
• Public Grievance Redressal System In the e-Samadhan software, the grievances are entered by public either online or through the Grievance cell of the collectorate. Each grievance has been categorized and given a fixed disposal time otherwise auto-alerts are raised. The status of the grievance is available online to the concerned officers and to their superiors, secretaries and ministers. The implementation of this system has ensured transparency and timely disposal of the grievances.
• District Website (http://hpshimla.nic.in) The website of district Shimla is encumbered with latest information for the benefit of various stakeholders. The website offers content on different types of services which have been grouped under separate sections. Special emphasis has been laid on G2C and G2G activities. The website is used in-house for the internal orders and circulars on Intranet. The website also provides information on Tourism, Fact File, Temples, Fairs & Festivals, Disaster Management etc. in the district.
• IVFRT Project The Immigration Visa Foreigners Registration and Tracking Project has been implemented at FRO Shimla. The modules in use are cFRO, C-Form and S Form. The Foreigners having a stay of more than 6 months are getting themselves registered on the centralized FRO module at the SP Office. The details of foreigners staying in hotels and students studying in educational institutions are entered in the C Form & S Form modules. Besides these, the following National Level Projects have been implemented in the district: • e-Courts – e-Courts MMP Project implemented in all the Sub-ordinate courts. • NADRS - National Animal Disease Reporting System has been implemented at Veterinary Hospitals in the blocks. • Kanoon Vyavastha - The software is operational in all the Thanas of the district. Online Data Updation module for Kanoon Vyavastha has been integrated with it. • AGMARKNET – Five Whole Sale Mandis are using this software. • NDAL – National Database on Arms Licences has also been implemented in the district.