Vidhan Sabha to go paperless

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 28

The Punjab Vidhan Sabha is all set to join the league of state Assemblies that are going paperless, helping the state save time and paper worth over Rs 14 crore annually.

Under the National E-Vidhan Sabha Application (NeVA) being handled by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) on behalf of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, proceedings of the House would go digital with the application, expected to be launched at the national level, across 40 state Assemblies, by the Prime Minister early next year.

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh said, “We have studied the paperless functioning of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly that was first to go paperless. We are in constant touch with the ministry handling the project.”

A senior government functionary said as compared to Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha that has 68 members, Punjab Assembly has 117 members. “This means the saving on paper will be much more. Himachal Pradesh saves paper worth Rs 14.5 crore, after amending its rules to accept questions and replies through an e-platform,” he added.

Brahm Mohindra, Punjab Parliamentary Affairs Minister, said, “We are already working on making the Vidhan Sabha paperless. We are moving ahead with the pace of other states.”

Officials handling the project in the state Assembly said it would be implemented in phases. Once operational, the entire functioning of the House, from receiving questions to processing of information and receiving of replies and preparation of committee reports, each and every legislative function performed by the House, would be made paperless. Apart from Bills, reports of various committees would be available in public domain on NeVA app and website.

“Under the project, LED screens will be installed at the work stations of the legislators, who will have to equip themselves digitally. The iOS and Google app of NeVA along with the NeVA website, will act as a repository of data related to the business of all legislatures in the country in a uniform manner,” he said.