One of the important lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic is that an enabling atmosphere for effective use of information technology can be d...
One of the important lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic is that an enabling atmosphere for effective use of information technology can be decisive in situations where awareness plays a key role, said Right to Information activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.
“The understanding about the importance of digitisation of information and its online dissemination existed earlier also, but we had never imagined how crucial it can become till the pandemic struck us,” he observed.
India’s Covid-19 crisis highlighted how social media can be used effectively by people, including the government officials, to stay connected and work together to manage difficulties, he said. “But when it comes to the official websites of the governments, they continue to be in mess.”
“Even some administrative departments such as Rural Development and Panchayati Raj department had no dedicated websites until recently [in Jammu and Kashmir],” Bhat observed adding that the central Right to Information Act of 2005 clearly emphasised the digitisation of government records and updating of websites.
“In this pandemic situation, the citizens should have been able to access information about the availability of vacancies, oxygen and ventilators in their area online,” said Bhat. “But that is not happening.”
He had taken up the issue of updating information with the Jammu and Kashmir administration....
