‘Mahiti Shakti:Power for Information’ is a project that had the support of the state government, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and research support from IIM-Ahmedabad. Nevertheless, it is on the brink of failure today.

Eight years ago, the project had started with immense enthusiasm at one of the most underdeveloped areas of Gujarat—Panchmahals. But it was soon abandoned by everyone. Frequent transfers of bureaucrats, lack of will to shoulder responsibility, riots in 2002 and non-availability of funds have all contributed to this.

The project aimed at online form submission, transaction, grievance redressal, and enhanced citizen-government interaction, which required upgradation of time intervals. However, the project that was supposed to be functional online is practically functional in six centres out of 80. Panchmahals District Collector Jayanti Ravi, who was awarded by the Computer Society of India for conceptualising the project, refused to comment on the issue.

“The project could not work despite giving it so much publicity including a special programme on Doordarshan,” said the district officials.

Frequent transfers are one of the reasons, said an official from the National Informatics Centre (NIC). It has contributed in setting up online ration card. Despite developing a separate trust, which was chaired by the district collector, and outsourcing server-management to the Ahmedabad-based firm, Adit Microsys, the project could not work.

Satyartha Srivastav, who heads Adit Microsys, said: “Three years ago, we wanted the district authorities to renew the web-domain, which never worked out. Besides, the district (Panchmahals) faced the worst-ever communal riots that lasted for six months in 2002, which drastically hampered project growth.”

District officials said, “STD/PCO booth operators had high expectations, which became difficult to manage through the basic information and communication technology available. There was a shortage of online, dynamic data on the network, as static data is mostly used.”

They added:“The management of the servers by Adit Microsys became difficult. This was made worse by frequent interruptions caused by irregular power supply. Three-hour long power cuts interrupted the smooth functioning of Mahiti Shakti Kendras (MSK), where computers had been installed.”

District Collector Milind Toravane said, “It is generally due to frequent transfers and redundancy that the project could not be implemented. But the issue will be resolved after the coming of the e-gram.”

Project Overview
October 2001:Project was implemented through 80 information centres (Mahiti Shakti Kendras) through which citizens could access information.

Main features:Gujarat Geographic Information System (GGIS) maps, medical information, legal aid, online submission of applications, e-Darbar and opinion poll facility, grievance redressal, Mahiti Mahisagar (an electronic newsletter), photo gallery, entertainment, magazines etc.

Support:The project was supported by United Nations Development Programme, the state government and actively promoted by Gujarat Informatics Ltd