The paperless office concept has come in handy for several government departments in the time of COVID-19, when offices are without their full staff strength. The e-office platform, which currently has 330 offices on board, has ensured that work goes on with little interruption.
These 330 offices includes offices of the Deputy Commissioners, Superintendent of Police, heads of departments, chief executive officers of zilla panchayats, and offices in the Secretariat.
In all, across departments, e-office covers about 13,000 State government employees, providing virtual office access. Over the last fortnight, the average movement of files per person per day has ranged from about 2.92% in the Minorities Welfare Department to 71.82% in the Finance Department.
“In non-essential departments, the average file movement is lower at present, as the work is concentrated on COVID-19. In the Finance Department, the average file movement is higher because it is a crucial department in the current crisis,” a government source said.
In e-offices, files move faster and do not require Group ‘D’ employees to personally carry them. Even in departments offering essential services, e-office has worked well, for many persons above 50 years and those with medical problems have been exempted from working.
The work from home concept has worked for these officials too, sources said. “Since it is a web-based application, it can be accessed by officials from anywhere,” acknowledged H.L. Prabhakar, project director at Centre for e-Governance.
In contrast, Group ‘A’ officials in offices not covered under the e-office concept are finding the going tough. For, barring officials and employees of 11 departments that are rendering essential services in the fight against COVID-19, the government has declared holiday for Group ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees in all other departments till the midnight of April 14. In all, there are 64 government departments in the State.
Some offices not open
“Many offices have not opened in the M.S. Building in the absence of Group ‘D’ employees. Some Group ‘A’ officials did not get drivers to reach the office. Without a Group ‘D’ worker, the files do not move,” a senior official in the government said. “Also, with the government’s efforts now concentrated on COVID-19, there is little work.”
A commercial tax official said that many officials are struggling to cope up with the current system where they have to work without clerical staff. Only a few officers are attending office, but in many departments there is nothing much to do.
Contract employees
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State war room for COVID-19 has asked departments to send a list of employees hired on contract in the 11 departments notified for rendering essential services so that passes can be issued to them.
