Project Sadbhavana: Bid to make Assam Secretariat Paperless

3.50 lakh files have been segregated into four categories to be archived or transferred to electronic mode

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Under Project Sadbhavana, the Assam Secretariat (Janata Bhavan) is inching closer to becoming paperless by the end of this year. For the first time in the history of the Assam Secretariat, 3.50 lakh old and new files have been segregated into four categories. These files will now be archived or transferred to electronic mode.

Considerable progress has been made in the process to make the Secretariat paperless. The old and closed files will be archived while the ongoing files will be scanned and sent to the record room to be uploaded to the e-office portal. The paperless policy has been rolled out to ensure speedy disposal of files and to have a clean Secretariat by doing away with the manual movement of files and the reams of paper.

The 3.50 lakh files in the Secretariat have been divided into four categories – category A includes files which will be permanently archived; category B includes files which are 12 years old; category C includes files which are 5 years old; and category D includes files which are one year old only.

Files in category A will be sent to the archive while the remaining files will be sent to the record room. Earlier, there was no record room in the Secretariat but now the process to set up a record room near the office of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has almost been completed. Currently, 78,000 files are being scanned thoroughly and the process of transferring these files to electronic mode is expected to be completed soon. When that happens, the Assam Secretariat will become paperless. Files will then be passed on from the lower-level officials to the higher-level officials via the e-office portal. Officials will record their notes digitally and files will be disposed of electronically.

Every officer and employee working in the Secretariat will have his/her computer. In addition to the computers already in use, a procurement order for another 1,700 computers has been placed. Some tables will also have scanners and printers.

Talking to The Sentinel, Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, General Administration Department and Secretariat Administration Department, MS Manivannan said, "As per the direction of honourable Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, work under Project Sadbhavana is going on smoothly. Very soon the Assam Secretariat will get a new and improved look. Manual movement of files from one office to another will stop. Besides the Secretariat, work to transfer files to the digital mode is going on in the offices of the Deputy Commissioners also."

The Assam Government launched Project Sadbhavana this year to clear all old files and close the long-pending files.

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