Mysuru: After the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner went paperless, the Mysuru Taluk Office housed in Mini Vidhana Soudha at Nazarbad  has followed suit.

Mysuru Taluk Office was converted into e-office on Feb. 12. Deputy Commissioner (DC) D. Randeep inaugurated the new facility. The initiative is in keeping with the District Administration’s intent to reduce use of paper as much as possible.

Randeep said that the use of software in government offices was aimed at bringing transparency and accountability in handling files, letters and documents. “The e-office software helps preserve all documents. The files are moved digitally from one desk to the other for clearance,” said Randeep.

He said that the implementation of the software was being done at the cost of Rs. 3 lakh. “The project has officially started now. All taluk offices across the district will be equipped with the e-office software, and will go paperless. Till now, 15 districts in the State have adopted the e-office software,” he added.

The software for e-office has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) of the Union Government. Henceforth, the use of paper for official work will be minimised. With the new initiative, it is possible to find the documents and letters without much effort and with the help of computer systems, it is possible to identify the status of any document. Besides, the chances of missing any document are less.

In addition, full details of the documents will be available and the initiative is much helpful in saving time and maintaining transparency in administration. The authorities have imparted training to the officials on handling the e-facility.

Randeep said that no middlemen are allowed in the taluk office and to avoid them, identity cards have been issued to all staff of the office. “They should wear ID cards during duty hours. Illegal entry of any person to the office has been restricted. Action will be taken against such persons,” he warned.

Additional Deputy Commissioner T. Yogesh said, “The service will benefit the people since they will no longer have to run from pillar to post. In the coming days, the e-office software will be adopted across all departments in the district and the software will be linked to the DC office.”

Mysuru Taluk Tahsildar T. Ramesh Babu and other Taluk officers and workers were present.

How does E-office work?

Documents of the applicants are scanned and the scanned copies are forwarded to the concerned department or section for verification or clearance through e-office. While the hard copy of document is not involved throughout the process, it is printed only once and the officer concerned has to sign or give his approval. The document will also be available if it is sought using Right to Information.