While irregularities have derailed the mission of the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC), the benefits of e-Governance in reaching the denizens of the State are not time bound with requisite quality.
Out of many initiatives related to infrastructure and application, the OCAC is responsible for providing connectivity to the Government offices at district and block level through the State Wide Area Network (OSWAN) that will improve Government efficiency at work places. The OSWAN serves as the backbone network for data, video and voice communications throughout the State which includes the State Head Quarters (SHQ), 30 District Head Quarters (DHQ), 284 Block Head Quarters (BHQ) and 61 Horizontal Offices.
However, it is alleged that required staff provisioned to engage for necessary support and maintenance at block levels are not deployed and the services are not properly monitored though the payment is going to be released on certificate of district machineries controlled by E&IT Department to a particular agency.
The OCAC has selected the BSNL to provide connectivity and city-based Print Link Computer and Communication through tender process to provide infrastructure for SWAN NOC, DHQ and BHQ with their infra support and maintenance. Print Link also provides manpower at every block to provide operation supports.
The OSWAN is managed by a nodal officer deputed from NIC and is placed at OCAC but he has less control over the project.
PWC is the TPA (Third Party Auditor) of the project but their observation and recommendations are not acceptable by the payment scrutiny committee.
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is providing bandwidth services for the implementation of the OSWAN project in the State, which is being taken up under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the Government of India. The BSNL is providing dedicated leased lines to connect the State headquarters in Bhubaneswar with all the district headquarters and the block headquarters. The project is aimed to benefit the denizens of Odisha in a big way and change the manner in which the people interact with the Government offices.
Though the Government of Odisha is provisioning budget and support for all the expenditure including CAPEX/OPEX, still because of poor service and connectivity, many offices depend on alternative arrangement of connectivity and required services.
The poor services can be attributed to a nexus between the OCAC-Print Links-BSNL officials. It is alleged that machineries are not upgraded and resources are not properly deployed leaving huge scope of manipulation.