Sonitpur with its natural beauty and rich cultural heritage is fast becoming a perfect destination for ICT to flourish in a more vibrant way than ever. Acclaimed as the second largest district of Assam, today the district is making quick progression in every field; right from education to medical and from economy to technology. Sonitpur is one of the 27 districts of Assam with its head quarters at Tezpur and is at a distance of 180 km from the Guwahati, the capital of Assam. NIC District centre came into existence in the year 1990. Since inception, the centre has faced many challenges which have been successfully met by introducing ICT based solutions in a number of departments. On one hand this has led to providing efficient citizen services to the people of the district while on the other, has made the district administration transparent, responsive and people friendly. The centre has successfully established high speed LAN which connects all the nodes at the Deputy Commissioner's office, which is used for web based software, file sharing, Internet and e-mail facility. The DAMA based video conferencing facility at the district has not only brought the district administration closer to the state capital, but also to the outside world. The 2MBPS leased line connectivity with the NIC state centre has immensely increased the ICT infrastructure of the district centre. The various e-Governance projects successfully implemented by NIC Sonitpur District are as follows. Official Website of Sonitpur The official website of Sonitpur District (http://sonitpur.gov.in) provides information about land & its people, accessibility, legend & history, administration, culture, education and tourism etc. The website has nicely compiled statistical information as well as large number of good quality photographs to attract both the scholars and tourists respectively. The website also provides link to ASHA project (Assam Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium) a hope for farm prosperity in the district by bringing all the stake holders together. Sh. Tarun Gogoi the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Assam inaugurating the “Dharitree” software Land Records Computerization The “Dharitree” Software has been implemented in all the seven Circle offices (Tehsils), making the district the first in the state. The citizens can get ROR, Citha copy, Land holding certificate, Agriculture income certificate etc. using the software. The software also facilitates for online mutation process. The land records database of the district have been hosted on the web (http://lrc.assam.nic.in). The “Dharitree” software had won the Bronze Icon award at the 9th National e-governance conference in the “Professional Excellence in Process Re-engineering” category, held at Cochin in the year 2006. Registration Department: “PANJEEYAN' The software for registration department, developed by NIC Assam state centre, has been implemented in all the four sub-registrar offices of the district. The citizens can get back their original deed on the day of the registration itself, with the help of the software. The software has helped the district administration as well, by way of electronically maintaining all the registered documents and facilitating the accounting procedures for revenue generated in the process. The launch of the “Panjeeyan” Software by Dr. Bhumidhar Barman, Hon'ble Revenue Minister, Assam CIC Project The project has been successfully implemented in all the fourteen blocks of the district. The CICs are providing various services to the people especially in the remote and inaccessible areas of the district. CICs of the district have been associated with 'IT for rural masses' with the help of NERIWALM, Tezpur. The project has been an enabler in spreading computer awareness in the district. The project has been able to generate sufficient revenue, which has made them self-sustainable. Employee Database Software for maintaining the database of the state government employee of the district has been developed and implemented. Service records including qualifications, posting details etc. of all the employees of the district has been computerized. Loka Sabha, State Assembly & Panchayat Elections The creation of polling personnel database, generation of appointment letters, details of vehicles, timely transmission of data to concerned department etc. are some of the features of the election management software, which has been implemented at the district. The election related support by the district centre has been a boon to the district administration and has proven that ICT can be used to solve major administrative problems. Training The district centre has been organizing various training programs from time to time for the benefit of the district administration. These have emphasis on e-governance projects, customized application software, Office automation tools, Internet & email. A general computer awareness program for officers and staffs of the district administration has been a regular activity at the NIC district centre. This has enhanced the utilization of computers in different departments of the district. Central/State Projects The centre is also providing support to various other Central/State projects. These include District Court Computerization, AGMARKNET, PMGSY, MPLAD, FCI, PMRY, DRDA Computerization, Education Department etc. Road Ahead The centre has embarked on an ambitious path for providing ICT based solutions to the district administration, which will fructify in the days to come. These are as follows. ¡ e-District project under NeGP. ¡ Transport Project (VAHAN & SARATHI) ¡ District level RF Network through Wi-Max technology ¡ Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) ¡ Computerization and computer networking of consumer forum (CONFONET) ¡ Common Integrated Police Application (CIPA) ¡ Employment Exchange Computerization