Cherthala: The touchscreen installed at the municipality office here to ensure transparency has now been dumped in a dusty corner of the building. Spending lakhs of rupees, the computerized facility was set up in July 2015 to help the public learn the status of various applications.
All the public needed to do was to enter the number of the file and all details regarding it would appear on the screen. Apart from sparing people the trouble of approaching officials in various sections to get their job done, the facility could prevent several malpractices.
However, in strange turn of events, the touchscreen – installed at the main entrance of the office – was switched off two days after the inauguration. Sometime ago, it was shifted to the present spot – among the disused office items.
The municipality office was computerized at a cost of Rs 21 lakh as part of a modernization plan. Details of files were entered into the system and all sections were linked to the network. Sections dealing with various taxes and certificates were fully computerized. As a result, status of files arriving in these sections could be easily obtained. Applications for pensions, permits and licenses could also be tracked through the touchscreen facility.
When contacted, municipal chairperson Isaac Madavana said that urgent action would be taken to make the touchscreen facility, which was much beneficial to people, functional. He also said that an inquiry would be conducted into the circumstances which led to shifting it to a dusty area in the office.