A screenshoot of Nagaland Chief Secretary website taken on December 9.
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | December 9
Last year, when The Morung Express assessed the websites of Nagaland’s top executives – the Governor, the State’s constitutional head, and the Chief Minister, the political head – they were found to be far from top-notch.
In short, the websites of the State's top executives do not provide much room for others to emulate and were in dire need of upgrades. Unfortunately, the scenario has not changed much since then.
For instance, as noted last year, the Raj Bhavan’s website includes a detailed section on the Governor’s profile, roles and responsibilities, as well as history and related topics. There is also a section on former Governors. A dedicated section on Right to Information (RTI) contains information on the ‘Functions and Duties of the Governor,’ along with up-to-date data on officers' designations, staff, and pay scales at Raj Bhavan. Contact details for the public, officials, political leaders, representatives of various institutions, and social workers are also provided for requesting courtesy calls with the Governor. The website embeds links to the Governor's tweets (@RajBhavanKohima), facilitating direct interaction with the public.
However, while the embedded tweets and regular press releases offer a general overview of the Governor’s activities, the ‘Latest Post’ on the website was dated “September 21, 2023.” There are no resources in the ‘Speeches’ section, while the ‘Messages’ section contains the Governor’s address to the State on the eve of the 77th Independence Day in 2023. Overall, there has been just a minor tweak since the last assessment in September 2023.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s website had DIPR’s Naga News embedded in the “Latest News & Updates” section. The website provides a brief biography of the Chief Minister, along with contact information for the CM’s Secretariat Office and CM’s Residential Office. Tweets by the CM (@Neiphiu_Rio) are embedded, providing updates on activities and messages by the Chief Minister, among other things.
However, there is neither an RTI disclosure nor an explanation of the Chief Minister’s roles and responsibilities. A section regarding the history and information on previous Chief Ministers is also absent from the website. In the ‘Speeches’ section, only three speeches uploaded on April 6, 2020, were found – the same status as in 2023.
Between September 2023 and December 9, 2024, neither of the two websites has had any major updates, falling behind in regularly providing robust resources in the public domain.
State’s top bureaucrat to rescue?
With the websites of both constitutional and political heads failing to impress, can the highest-ranking civil servant in the State offer some hope? To some extent.
The website of Nagaland’s Chief Secretary (https://chiefsecretary.nagaland.gov.in/) does offer important links to various resources and is more structured. It also includes a Right to Information Disclosure for 2022-23. The ‘About’ and ‘Who’s Who’ sections are impressive. Details of 43 Administrative Heads of Departments and 63 Heads of Departments are also listed.
However, it lags behind in updates, with the “Latest Updates” section dated July 2024. The galleries are mostly ‘undated.’ The compilation of speeches, interviews, and press releases is limited at best. Former Chief Secretaries are also listed. An integrated X (formerly Twitter) link was also found.
Overall, it is a decent effort but needs some course correction in streamlining various information.
