Sakala to reach villages through neighbourhood post offices

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs T.B. Jayachandra, Sakala Mission Director Shalini Rajneesh and Chief Postmaster General M.S. Ramanujan at the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the Department of Posts for extending Sakala services through post offices, in Bangalore on Friday. — PHOTO: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.

India Posts’ Statewide network to be used for scheme

Sakala is set to benefit villages with the State government and the Department of Posts signing a Memorandum of Understanding to implement the programme utilising its Statewide network of over 8,500 post offices, on Friday.

The scheme aims to standardise and simplify citizen service delivery systems, and will be implemented after training the postal staff.

According to the agreement signed between Sakala Mission Director Shalini Rajneesh and Chief Postmaster General M.S. Ramanujan, online services under Sakala would be delivered through 1,700 major post offices. The service will first be implemented in 49 offices on a pilot basis. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra, who inaugurated a workshop titled ‘Advantage Citizens-2 years of Sakala’, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wanted to enhance the level of commitment of the bureaucracy to increase efficiency so that pro-poor measures could be implemented quickly.

Mr. Jayachandra said if the lack of coordination between officials was corrected, they could collectively serve the people better. He added that ‘Sakala clocks’ would be installed at taluk offices utilising the MLAs’ fund.

Later, speaking to presspersons, Ms. Rajneesh said the scheme would be introduced in 500 post offices immediately and in 1,000 more after three months. She said Sakala could be introduced in all the 6,000 village panchayats if the staff were trained in computers. Online services had been provided for 134 services and it would be extended to all the 478 services in 47 departments/agencies, except the Social Welfare, Energy and Agriculture departments.

Mr. Ramanujan said core-banking facility was being provided in 60 post offices in the State and it would be extended to 2,000 more by 2015-end. Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee, who released a booklet on Sakala, said of the 4.87 crore applications, 4.81 crore had been cleared.

Source : http://www.thehindu.com/