SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, on Tuesday said that JK has set a new benchmark by making 1016 citizen-centric services online. “JK is the first among all states and UTs in the number of e-services being provided to citizens,” he added.
The Lt Governor said that it was a milestone achievement in tune with the commitment and resolve of the J&K administration to provide ease, convenience, and accessibility of services to the common man ushering in a new era of digital governance.
“JK creates a new benchmark in e-Governance Service Delivery with 1016 services now made available online. The digital transformation of the UT is guided by the principle of people-first and our aim to empower the common man. This historic achievement is testimony to our commitment to transform the social landscape and enhance citizen’s satisfaction, ensure transparency and accountability in the system and empower the aspirational and talented youth and women,” the Lt Governor said.
It was informed that J&K has overtaken MP to become number one amongst States / UTs in the country in the number of online services provided to citizens. Under the Digital J&K programme launched in mission mode last year, the number of online services has increased exponentially from 174 services in July, 2022 to 1016 services as on date with nearly 500 percent increase in just one year.
The Lt Governor noted that remarkable digital journey of J&K and the resultant transformation from a laggard status in e-governance to a leading position in such a short span of time is unprecedented. This has brought about a paradigm shift resulting in increased transparency, accountability and efficiency at all levels, he said.
As a result of purposeful and focused action, Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an exceptional increase in volume and uptake of e-services which has transformed the government-citizen interface as never before. There has been a palpable reduction in corruption and increase in citizen satisfaction which is being regularly monitored through a citizen feedback mechanism, LG Sinha noted.
“The seriousness of the Government’s resolve can be gauged from the fact that the Public Services Guarantee Act (PSGA), 2011 has been amended to bring online services under its ambit. Around 300 services have been brought under the auto-escalation mechanism for ensuring time-bound delivery of services and penalties for delays in service delivery,” he said.
Sinha said taking a leap forward in mobile governance, the recently launched mobile application “Mobile Dost” provides all online services through mobile phones and has a bilingual interface.
Moving towards digital inclusion, another landmark initiative is the launch of “Digi-Dost” — a mechanism for doorstep delivery of citizen-centric services by leveraging the ubiquitous presence of Common Services Centres (CSC), he added.
