BENGALURU: Time-consuming manual work such as movement of files and processing of tenders may soon be a thing of past at the state tourism department office in the city. The Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) is set to go paperless within a month.
The corporation is rolling out an e-office software among all its departments. “The movement of hundreds of hard copies of files currently depends on the caseworker putting it up to the concerned departments, which delays the process,” Kumar Pushkar, Managing Director, KSTDC, said. “With all the files put up online, I can track those that are disposed of or pending, even while travelling on work. This way, they do not get piled up, making our functioning more efficient and transparent,” he added.
KSTDC began rolling out the initiative among some departments on May 1. “The e-governance department has trained our staff on how the software works but it will take time for everyone to get used to it, as all of them may not be tech-savvy. In a month’s time, all the departments should be going paperless,” Pushkar added.
The software will bring quicker resolution of issues, such as approval of short-term tenders. “For instance, if the beds in a tourist property get damaged right before the tourist season and we need to urgently place bulk orders, the process takes a minimum of four days now, with the file moving to various levels. This can all be done online, taking one or two days, with the software,” an official told CE.
The move will, of course, make the corporation eco-friendly. Also, officials will be able to track renovation of the hotels, payments and penalties on vendors, occupancy rates, and customer demand. “We can study the trend during the holiday season, and alter our rates to make it more competitive. Property and finance management, as well as data analytics, will become smoother with the online set-up,” another official said.