Tracking files by ‘touch’

Tracking files by ‘touch’
Tuesday July 8 2008 12:13 IST Asha P. Nair for EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

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Frequenting the Corporation office for obtaining documents is often an irksome affair for many. Being completely unaware of the status of a file and to be turned down indifferently by officials will be enough to leave one exhausted. But, things are in for a change.

Soochika, a software to track the work-flow, will become functional in the City Corporation within a matter of two months. Its networking is nearing completion. A file, when moved manually from one section to another, will be entered simultaneously into the system, thereby bringing transparency to the administrative process. The technical expertise for the software is being lent by the Information Kerala Mission (IKM).

``When a file is signed by a section officer and moved to the next section, the officers must update it. So, if stuck in a section, the applicants can easily spot it. The Mayor or Secretary will also be able to view the status of a file and trace the erring official,’’ said an IKM official. Soochika is to be incorporated with a touchscreen kiosk, which will be set up at the Janasevana Kendram office of the Corporation, through which citizens can track the status of their files. The receipt received on giving an application will have a number, across which the status of the file is to be entered by the respective officials.

However, for the smooth networking of Soochika, more computers are required, the lack of which will see the software installed in certain sections only in the initial days. According to IKM officials, the success of Soochika depends on the cooperation of respective Corporation officials and on a constant monitoring system.

``Unless officials update the software and make sure that the grievance redressal mechanism works in favour of the citizens, it’s not going to work,’’ said an official with the IKM.

The work-flow software has been successfully installed in the Kozhikode and Thrissur Corporations and has been judiciously put to use by three panchayats in the State.

A report system, also part of Soochika, will enable the Mayor, Secretary and HODs to evaluate the work-flow and not wait for updates from various sections to track a file. In the later stages, Soochika will be made a web-service (available online in a website) for citizens to track the status of their files. With the Corporation going in for huge funds in the name of JNNURM and KSUDP and local bodies playing an active role in the day-to-day administration of the people, Soochika (if operated efficiently) will be one step further in creating a corruption-free process, officials said. - ashapreman@rediffmail.com