CHOiCE

Chhatisgarh Online Information for Citizen Empowerment

About the Project:

State of Chhattisgarh has initiated a revolutionary approach to citizen services and provides one stop solution for anywhere-anytime based government known as Chhattisgarh Online information system for Citizen Empowerment (CHOiCE).

CHOiCE is a One Stop Window and integrated with other Government departments like Municipality, District Collectorate, Urban Development Authority, Regional Transport Office, Panchayat, Rural Development Department & Social Welfare Department, Public welfare Department. CHOiCE agents appointed by concerned district collector work as notary and extension of government office as per Chhattisgarh Citizen Service (Electronic Governance) Rule, 2003. It is the only project which fully compliant with IT Act 2000. Entire work flow involving citizen interaction with government has been design to flow electronically so that 24X7 availability of government is ensured through these CHOiCE agents. CHOiCE Project has received Awards & Commendations from CSI-Nihilent 2010, eWorld forum 2011.

Goals & Objectives:

The basic goals & objectives of implementing CHOiCE (Chhattisgarh Online Information for Citizen Empowerment) Project are:

To develop a robust system which can handle at least 30,000 named users and 3,000 concurrent users
To establish electronic citizen service centers across Chhattisgarh State to deliver more than 131 e-governance services
To ensure the stability, availability, and security of the service centers with a strong Server end supportTo introduce a single window experience for citizens to apply for various citizen services Birth, Death, Marriage, Income, Caste, Domicile etc. and get them from a single window
To improve communication between government administrators and citizens by building an interactive Web portal to disseminate information and submit grievances
To adopt transparent, best-practice business guidelines, ensuring staff and residents track the progress of a payment or query, enhance efficiency and productivity as a result of automating manual processes
To lower the costs by adopting a centralized architecture, enabling the platform to be administered and supported from one location
To create a centralized database to store critical business data for accurate and correct information since these applications have legal implications and was to handle personal and private information of the citizens
To provide easy access to information by enabling senior managers and staff to access data across different departments via a web based interface
To introduce a single window experience for citizens to apply for various citizen services Birth, Death, Marriage, Income, Caste, Domicile etc. and get them from a single window

Geographical spread of project implementation:

In CHOiCE, Web based application has been developed which is easily scalable upto the limitations of internet availability.

CHOiCE has an ability for an increasing number of organizations like Municipality, District Collectorate, Urban Development Authority, Regional Transport Office, Panchayat, Rural Development Department & Social Welfare Department etc to easily share a single distributed system.

The project has been rolled out in the entire State in three phases. The project was initiated in 2003 in the city of Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh in pilot phase. It had been extended in five more Districts viz. Durg, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon, Sarguja and Bastar in the year 2008 and it has been rolled in remaining districts of the state in the year 2012-13.

Milestones:

he application software has been developed on Linux and other Open Source technologies. It is perhaps the biggest Open Source eGovernance project in the country
Digital workflow of documents from one office to another
The project is first of the sort in the country to use three level security which includes bio-metric authentications and digital signatures
For the first time in the country, Private Citizens (CHOi CE Agents) have been notified as Public Servants under IT Act thereby enabling them to process government documents
Robust Application Software which has been tested for 3000 concurrent users
The project is IT Act 2000 compliant and provides legal validity to its electronic transactions.
Availability of 24x7 online Government Services
Created employment opportunities for the citizens of Chhattisgarh State
Improved the efficiency and efficacy of Government Officers
Capturing of data at CHOi CE Centres has enabled departments to allocate more time for efficient Service Delivery
Drastically reduced the application processing time from days to minutes
Curtailed the waiting time for certain documents from 15-20 days to just 1-2 days
Instant MIS reports for planning, budgeting, monitoring & evaluation
Instant identification of delay points has enabled prompt administrative action
Definite reduction in corruption
Increase in transparency and accountability of the government

Key project Outcomes:

The project is on open source hence there is no additional licensing cost for horizontal proliferation of project
There is political and administrative support in the implementation of the project; More than two lakh certificates have been transacted through this portal and project seems to have achieved the critical mass
Sustainability: Though CHOi CE is intended to serve the purpose of the general public and address all the services very efficiently, it is sustainable because it is indirectly enabling all the government dignitaries at various levels to be abreast with the latest technology and thus in-turn is also helping them to erase their fears of losing their jobs to the tech savvy generation
Usage: Reduction in corruption, increase in transparency and accountability of the government
Usefulness: Designed to improve program and management effectiveness, efficiency and accountability
Satisfaction: This is in line with the true spirit of citizen centric governance
Normally, accessing governmental services is not an easy and pleasant experience
For some work, one has to visit offices repeatedly. Availability of services online at all time is a great effort in creating a responsive government
Empowerment: Through CHOi CE, the e-literacy level at grass-root level has increased and also CHOi CE helps to bridge the digital divide between the rich and the poor

Latest Facts and Figures of the project:

More than 300 CHOi CE agents across the state are delivering various Citizen Services through CHOi CE
More than 11 lakhs transactions for Citizen Beneficiaries has taken place through CHOi CE
CHOi CE project has been upgraded in a new architecture & latest technology and rolled out under e-District MMP as on 27 Feb 2015

Key Persons: