Bengaluru : By next year, legislators in Karnataka are likely to have touchscreen devices on their tables in both Houses to read reports, bills, and access vital information during sessions.
This is part of the state government’s initiative to make sessions paperless. It is expected to save at least Rs 30 crore annually by not printing reports and booklets to be given to the legislators and others. This initiative will also allow the public to access the draft bills.
With this, Karnataka will become the first state in the country to go paperless in both its Houses. A detailed project report (DPR) will be ready in the next few months. If things move as planned, by next year, the system will be in place.
Though the National E-Vidhan Application (NeVA) facility to make legislature proceedings paperless is in place, only a few states have adopted it. Speaker of the Assembly UT Khader said this facility is not apt for Karnataka as it has a bicameral legislature (Assembly and Council). There are technical issues with it.
He said, “The Centre will share 50 per cent of the project cost. NeVA is not being used by the Parliament itself as it is also bicameral. It is not about the facility’s cost. When this facility is of little help for the bicameral system, what is the use of having it?”
‘Legislators familiar with tablets’
The government has constituted three committees — technical, finance and rules — to realise its initiative. Sources in the Assembly said the technical committee has professionals from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), central e-governance and smart governance departments, who will look into the technical aspects.
The finance committee has members from e-governance and other departments to finalise the DPR and submit it to the finance department. “The DPR will be done by an external agency. We expect it to be ready in the next six months. Once it is done, tenders will be called to implement the project. It may take one year for the system to be in place,’’ an official said.
The rules committee will study the practices and proceedings followed to adopt the new technology.
According to Khader, as NeVA is not that effective, these committees will study and come up with a better facility. With the paperless initiative, the legislators can connect with people easily. “We introduce many bills. When they are in the draft stage itself, we can seek public opinion on them. We will get real-time data and feedback,’’ he said.
The sources said legislators will have touchscreen tablets on their desks in both Houses. “We can train them in using the tablets. Many legislators are familiar with tablets,’’ the sources added. This initiative will be introduced in Vidhana Soudha, and later in Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi in two phases.
