Online links replacing paper in Nepal municipality

["Irfan Khan" <khania2@super.net.pk>]

Online links replacing paper in Nepal municipality

Friday, 24 January 2002: A digital pace is starting to replace the 
rhythm of filing paper forms and stamping documents for a long queue 
of people at the municipal offices in Bharatpur, a town of 90,000 in 
central Nepal.

A joint initiative by UNDP and the Government put municipal services 
online http://www.bharatpurmun.org.np/eng_introduction.htm this 
month, a pioneering project that sets the stage for efforts to bring 
access to information and communications technology (ICT) to 
communities nationwide.

Before the Internet option, everyone in Bharatpur had to go to the 
municipal offices to register births, marriages, deaths, housing 
construction and file other documents. Now they can submit forms 
electronically and also send in suggestions and queries to municipal 
authorities via e-mail.

The municipality has trained the 14 secretaries to operate the system 
in the town's wards, and the 18 cyber cafes are available as service 
centres, working in coordination with the municipality -- a mutually 
beneficial arrangement.

The municipality's Information Centre is spreading the word in each 
ward to tell households about the new services. The town is also 
seeing more computer institutes opening their doors, and more young 
people are gaining skills.

"With support from the people, UNDP and the Government, and the 
commitment of the municipality, Bharatpur can be a model of e-
governance," said Hom Nidhi Poudel, chief of the municipality's 
Information Section. It is an example of a transparent system, with 
information about all the activities of the municipality available 
through the Internet, he added.

Only 3.5 million out of 24 million Nepalese have access to 
electricity, mainly in urban areas, and there are only three PCs per 
1,000 people. Nepal has only 11 Internet service providers, 290 
Internet hosts and 50,000 Internet and email users.

Though use of ICT in public administration and government is limited, 
its potential for helping development and economic growth has 
prompted the Ministry of Science and Technology 
http://www.most.gov.np/ to take steps to develop the sector. It 
formulated a national ICT policy and strategies in 2000.

UNDP and the Government have carried out studies on mobilizing ICT 
for development and these identified connecting rural communities to 
the Internet as a priority.

The government aims to set up about 1,000 community technology 
centres to provide public access to ICT, offering many rural 
communities their first access to a world of information on the 
Internet. UNDP plans to support the effort with a pilot project on 
rural connectivity.

ICT can empower communities and help reduce poverty by improving 
access to information vital for progress in sectors such as 
education, health care, agriculture, business, and public 
administration.



source: 
http://www.undp.org/dpa/frontpagearchive/2003/january/24jan03/index.ht
ml