Chandrababu complains to Guv against upgrading e-office files of State Govt, seeks immediate halt to whole process

Amaravathi: The TDP national president, Mr Nara Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday made an appeal to the Governor Mr Abdul Nazeer, to initiate measures to immediately put an end to the process of upgrading the e-office of the State Government.

In a letter addressed to the Governor, a copy of which is sent to the Chief Election Commissioner, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Chief Secretary, the Special Chief Secretary of the Finance Department and the Principal Secretary of the General Administration Department (GAD), the TDP supremo said that the State Government is planning to upgrade the existing e-office version ostensibly under the instructions of the Union Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology (MeitY) of the Government of India and the Network Interface Controller (NIC), New Delhi.

In the process the services of e-office application are not available for the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the Chief Secretary's office, various wings in the State Secretariat and Heads of Departments (HoDs) from Friday till 25 May, Mr Chandrababu mentioned in the letter. He also said that officials and political parties are expressing various kinds of apprehensions that the timing of the exercise is fraught with possible mischief of deleting the important files and documents relating to the decisions taken by this Government involving omissions, commissions, irregularities, deviations and diversions of resources to favour the contractors besides some YSRCP leaders.

Pointing out that the State Government, violating the regular practice, has not been uploading the GOs on its website, particularly some GOs relating to major decisions, thus keeping the crucial decisions under the wraps, Mr Chandrababu informed the Governor through the letter. There is absolutely no transparency in the administration and cases are being foisted against those who are raising voice against the irregularities in the governance or opaque decisions.

This kind of functioning of the Government only gives a clear indication of some mischief likely to be resorted to by this Government in the name of migrating to new e-office version, particularly when the election process is on and many officers, including the HoDs are drafted for the poll duty who are not available at their respective headquarters, he said. Suggesting that the decision can be postponed till the new government is in its place, Mr Chandrababu made an appeal to the Governor to direct the Chief Secretary to defer the decision till the new government is formed.

Mr Chandrababu also mentioned that he has information that certain crucial records are being destroyed or shifted from the offices and pointed out the incidents that took place earlier in which some records belonging to the CBCID were burnt without following the prescribed procedure for destructing the government records. "We have already lodged a complaint with the CEO in this regard and we are yet to receive a reply from the CEO for this," the TDP supremo said.

Against this backdrop it is essential that all the files, note files, records and documents are secured properly and not allowed to be either destroyed or taken away, he asked in the letter and felt that there is every need to arrange for CC cameras to prevent any such uncalled action. Mentioning about the letters written earlier by the TDP politburo member, Mr Varla Ramaiah, a representation made to the Governor by himself and the circular issued on May 14, a day after the election is over, Mr Chandrababu Naidu appealed to the Governor to immediately direct the Chief Secretary to take proper action in this regard.