IT dept mulls barcoding of e-letters for authenticity

The state IT department has proposed the General Administration (GA) department to use small auto generated barcode stamps on the letters to check forgery of letters issued through e-dispatch.

"There have been some stray cases where forged letters of government look alike duly ink signed are being produced by mischievous elements, putting an adverse pressure on the government," said Madhusudan Padhi in letter to the GA department.

The barcoded number will ensure authenticity of the letter and will have facilities to get them verified over the internet or through SMSes, he added.

Though letter number is unique, the same cannot be verified as all letters are not public. There is no way to check the content, hence may not be full proof, he wrote.

Odisha has been a pioneer state in country in introducing electronic transfer of letter used by most of the departments of the state government except law, parliamentary affairs, tourism and culture, science and technology, fisheries and animal resources development, public grievances and pension administration, etc. Sources say, about 25,000 addresses have been created for electronic transfer of letters. About 1,254 offices across the state are using the e-dispatch application. On an average 2,500 original letters (with 4,500 memos) are being transacted daily through the application. About 10,000 citizens are accessing the application on daily basis, although the access has been denied presently for the citizens from 11 am to 7 pm.