October 2012 - Informatics

District InformaticsDHAMTARI –Citizen Empowerment through ITNational InformaticsCentre, Dhamtari cameinto existence in theyear 2000 and sincethen it has beentirelessly working topromote e-governancein the districtadministration. In thelast 12 years thedistrict has witnessedtremendous growth, inthe field ofInformationTechnology therebyimproving theaccessibility anddelivery of variousgovernment servicesto the citizens.UPENDRA SINGHCHANDELDistrict Informatics OfficerNIC Dhamtarisingh.upendra@nic.inDEdited byAnshu Rohatgihamtari, a district ofChhattisgarh is about 78kms from the state capitalRaipur. It has a rich culturalheritage and is famous forits dance styles, cuisine, music andtraditional folk songs. The total area ofthe district is 2029 sq. kms and it is about305 meters above the mean sea level.The district has a total population ofalmost 8 lakhs (as per the 2001 census)with the gender ratio of 1012 females forevery 1000 males and a literacy rate of78.95 percent. From the administrativepoint of view the district is divided intofour tehsils, four blocks and 651 revenuevillages.The district has global IT presencethrough the websitehttp://dhamtari.gov.in which assists thecitizens in accessing information aboutthe district. The website also containspublic interest information like ongoingdevelopment schemes in the district,tenders, recruitments, weather forecast,contact information of various districtlevel officials and links to other importantgovernment websites.ICT INFRASTRUTURENetwork services provided by NIC:A 100 Mbps link connects the districtcentre with state head quarters at Raipur,while LAN connectivity is extended toDistrict Collector Office, SP Office, PostOffice, Zila Panchayat, Block Panchayatand VC Room and other administrativeoffices within the collectorate.Video conferencing facility: TheVideo Conferencing facility available inthe district plays an important role inredressal of public grievances andmonitoring departmental activity andprojects. It allows the districtadministration to interact with state headquarters on regular basis withouttravelling and in a cost effective manner.ICT Training: Training programmesare regularly conducted for the officials ofvarious departments on various schemeslike MGNREGA, Smart KeroseneDelivery System, PlanPlus, PRIASoft,CPSMS etc.e-GOVERNANCE INITIATIVESComputerization of ICDS Scheme(Integrated Child DevelopmentServices): ICDS is a World Bank assistedproject, headed by Department ofWomen & Child Development, Ministryof Human Resource Development,Government of India. The purpose ofICDS is to improve the health status ofchildren between the age-group 0-6 yearsand to lay the foundation for properpsychological, physical and socialdevelopment of the child.While implementing the project inDhamtari huge anomalies were found inthe food grain allocation, erraticdistribution of food coupons, irregulardisbursement of funds and calculations.In order to remove these anomalies, NICDhamtari developed the Early ChildCare & Education (ECCE) software tochannelize, systematize and re-engineerthe complete distribution cycle. Thisonline software records the attendance ofchildren, calculates the cooking cost,prints required number of food coupons,October 2012 | informatics.nic.in | 37