Screenshots of Nagaland Governor and Chief Minister taken on September 11. (Inset) Based on data available on the websites.
Governor and Chief Minister’s websites need urgent upgrade
Moa Jamir
Dimapur | September 11
Do the websites of the State’s constitutional and political heads – the Governor and Chief Minister respectively – spearhead the utilisation of information technology to its full potential?
A simple assessment of the Raj Bhavan (Governor) and Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) websites by The Morung Express reveals that it is not the case, and both are not 'top-notch.'
As reported earlier, while the digital initiative has led to some changes, most departmental websites in Nagaland are performing below expectations.
However, the websites of the top executives of the State also do not provide much room for others to emulate and need an urgent upgrade.
Raj Bhavan’s website
What’s working:
The website includes a detailed section on the Governor’s profile, roles and responsibilities, as well as history and related topics.
A dedicated section on Right to Information (RTI) also 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 also embeds links to the Governor's tweets ((@RajBhavanKohima), facilitating direct interaction with the public.
What’s not working:
While tweets and regular press releases offer a general overview of the Governor’s activities, no section regarding news or other activities was found on the website.
Apart from the embedded tweets, the last update was shown to be on February 22, 2023.
The ‘notification’ section was also empty, with no text or video messages available.
The only message available on the website was the Easter Sunday message by the previous Governor dated April 12, 2020. There are no records of previous Governors on the website.
Overall, the website had limited data and other information.
Chief Minister’s website
What’s working:
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.
Names and designations of officials at the Chief Minister’s Office are also listed, along with common contact and fax numbers.
A dedicated section on the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund is available on the website.
Tweets by the CM (@Neiphiu_Rio) are embedded, providing updates on activities and messages by the Chief Minister, among other things.
What’s not working:
Apart from a brief biography, no other information regarding the Chief Minister’s roles and responsibilities is provided. There is no RTI disclosure.
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.
Apart from tweets and periodic press releases, there is no dedicated activities updates section, and the ‘News’ section redirects to an unspecified ‘Naga News’ on the Department of Information and Public Relations’ website.
The list of donations received, Government Department donors, and disbursements under the Chief Minister Relief Fund is only updated up to the 2020-21 financial year. It is uncertain whether this pertains only to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for COVID-19, as the appeal on the section is made exclusively for the same.
The website, overall, has limited content.
It should be noted that there is also an official Chief Minister’s Dashboard maintained by the National Informatics Centre. However, it is not linked to the Chief Minister’s website.
The Dashboard provides information on various schemes, services, and activities, such as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Old-Age Pension, Swachh Bharat Mission, Public Distribution System, etc. Most of the information is updated up to this year, except for ‘Maintenance of Roads’ (data up to 30.04.2020), ‘Vehicles National Permit’ (30.04.2019), ‘Various Scholarships’ (only until Feb 2022), ‘Blue Revolution IDMF’ (February 2018), etc.
This is the part-two of a series on assessment of digital governance of departments and agencies under the Government of Nagaland
