Himachal CM launches e-Vidhan project

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Monday launched a Rs.8.12 crore e-Vidhan project of the state legislative assembly.

The monsoon session of the assembly, slated to begin Wednesday, will now go paperless. The session will have 16 sittings and will conclude Aug 29.

"A new chapter has been added in the history of the state assembly as it has become the first state in India to launch the e-Vidhan project," the chief minister said.

Speaker B.B.L. Butail said the project would save an annual expenditure on papers from Rs.15 crore to Rs.10 crore.

"From sending questions online and receiving replies in an e-format, we are going to do away with the entire hard copy format," Butail told IANS.

The chief minister said this would make the work completely paperless and online. "It is a rare feat for the state. It would improve the efficiency and is environmental friendly as it would reduce the usage of paper."

Remembering state's first chief minister Yashwant Singh Parmar on the occasion, Virbhadra Singh said besides being a parliamentarian of repute Parmar was an able administrator, a visionary and a statesman of high calibre.

Parmar's 108th birth anniversary falls Aug 4.

The online project will enable e-voting and digital recording of the house proceedings.

The questions and answers would be uploaded on the digital touchscreens half an hour before the session commences to enable the legislators to prepare for discussions in the house, the speaker said.

Butail said most of the members of the 68-member house have taken special training to familiarize themselves with the newly-installed devices.

He said if any member of the house wants to highlight any problem of his or her area through video clips via a call attention motion, this could be displayed on an LED screen.