The official website of the Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), Government of Uttarakhand, has not been in operation since December 2013. While the State Government claims to be taking measures to capitalise on information technology, its failure to resume this website has raised questions on its efficiency.
It intrigues curiosity as to why the department keeps on dragging its feet on the matter when modern gadgets have made things easy-just a click away, so to say- in the realm of communication. More so, DIPR is responsible for putting Government’s programmes and policies in right perspectives within reach of the people.
An observer said the website uttarainformation.gov.in remaining suspended for over a year reflects poorly on the functioning of the State Government when juxtaposed against its stress on conducting even its routine business online as a prelude to going for complete digitisation of its functioning in due course of time.
“This may be sheer unprofessionalism reigning in the department that is stopping them from restoring the website. The website not just provides an insight into departmental information of greater public interests but also help maintain a degree of transparency in the functioning of the public office,” the observer said.
To ensure a greater degree of transparency, the State Government has taken certain steps to include host of pension and other welfare schemes in its expansive digitisation programme. Even the ration cards are being digitised across the State. Thus, it is clear that things prevailing in the department amounts to the defiance of the State Government’s stress promoting e-governance to ensure more transparency in its functioning.
However, when asked Yogesh Mishra, Assistant Director (information),media centre, Haldwani about the website remaining defunct for so long a time, he said perhaps efforts are on to restore the website. “However, my seniors can enlighten where things stand now,” he added.