Shimoga District in Karnataka is a true picture of nature’s bounty with landscapes dotted with waterfalls, swaying palms and lush paddy fields. The district, located almost in the center of Karnataka map is also known as the ‘Rice Bowl of the State.’ Jog Falls, the highest waterfalls of India and Agumbe, the Cherrapunjee of South India are located in Shimoga.
NIC at Shimoga NIC Centre at Shimoga District was established in the year 1988 with an aim to provide computerization support to the local government and district administration. The NIC offices were set up in Zilla Panchayat Office Premises and District Magistrate’s office. The initial task was to generate computer awareness among the local government officials and encourage them to use NICNET communication facility. Over time, the district unit got involved in various computerisation Projects catering to the needs of the District Administration, Zilla Panchayat and other state/central government departments. The district unit also contributed to the e-governance drive by designing websites for all the three major departments of Shimoga District i.e District Administration, Police Department and Zilla Panchayat.
?| Major Accomplishments ? Jana Samvedana : A Grievance monitoring system called ‘Jana Samvedana’ – a unique software for Mass Contact Programme conducted every week by the District Administration. This software has two modules, one for the Block level implementation and the other for the Sub-Divisional and District level implementation. This software generates various reports and helps the District Administration in monitoring and faster disposal of the Grievances.
? Bhoomi (Land Records Computerisation): NIC Unit successfully implemented the Bhoomi project in all 7 talukas of Shimoga District. A total of 3.5 Lakh RTC’s have been computerised. The District administration has provided unique concept of displaying the RTCs to the farmers by installing Television sets in place of traditional monitors.
? GRASP (Grants and Releases Accounting Software Package): This software is used by Zilla Panchayat Accounts section. The software automates the flow of government Grants/Releases to the respective Implementing Officers of different departments.
? Zilla Panchayat Accounting Package: The District Unit of NIC is providing total support to the Zilla Panchayat Accounts Section. A package is developed by local unit for computerisation of accounting process. The package is used for entering the daily voucher details of both the Zilla Panchayat Accounts and Taluka Panchayat Accounts. The software generates various reports for both monthly and annual accounts for submission to Accountant General Office.
? Internet Scenario: NIC Shimoga has played an instrumental role in design and development of three popular websites for District Administration, District Police and Zilla Panchayat.
? Zilla Panchayat Website : First of its kind in Karnataka, this website was officially launched by Shri. S.M.Krishna, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka on 19th February 2000. The site presents the Organisational structure, Political Structure, Departments and their activities, Citizen centric information of different developmental schemes taken up by the Zilla Panchayat and other important statistics related to Zilla Panchayat Office. URL : http://www.kar.nic.in/zpshimoga
? District Website Shimoga : This website was officially launched by District Magistrate Shimoga on 26th January 2003. This site presents History, Geography, Industrial information, Educational and administrative details of Shimoga District. This site also covers e-citizen information like govt. telephone directory, bus and train timings, downloadable forms, maps etc. URL : http://shimoga.nic.in
? Shimoga Police Website : This website was officially launched by Home Minister, Government of Karnataka on 1st June 2001. This site presents information about Shimoga police, organisational structure, Citizen charter services like Crime prevention guidelines, Circle wise police station details and contact information. URL : http://www.shimogapolice.org
?| Other Activities ? Election Support : Shimoga District NIC was involved in computerising the Pre-Poll Statistics, Counting of Votes and Post Poll Statistics of Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha Elections. ? Implementation of different NIC software packages developed by the state and central units like CNAA, AGMARKNET, AHVS, Samanya Mahiti, RGRHCL etc.. ? Computerisation of payroll system for Zilla Panchayat Office and District Magistrate’s office. ? Providing NICNET facilities to different departments through dial-up network.
In the Words of Deputy Commissioner, Shimoga, Mr.Tushar Girinath, IAS: “NIC Shimoga is a very vibrant and result oriented unit. District Administration has used the NIC technical and human resources extensively for accomplishing the objectives of resource mapping, planning and grievance redressal. NIC has been involved with development and maintenance of ‘Bhoomi’ software, which is the pride of Karnataka. They have developed Shimoga’s website http://shimoga.nic.in in a very short time. I thank NIC for their support of all District level initiatives taken by us and solicit their co-operation in future. I wish them all the luck in their endeavors.” NIC Shimoga District Unit District Informatics Officer Pramod Hirolikar District Informatics Associate Cherla Ramakanth For further information, please contact District Informatics Officer, National Informatics Centre, Zilla Panchayat Office, Shimoga (Karnataka) Email: karshi@hub2.nic.in