UEPPCB becomes tech savvy

Anjali Nauriyal

The Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) has got tech-savvy. In a first of its kind endeavour to attain transparency and speed, UEPPCB has now begun processing applications online. It has put in place an initiative called Ganga XGN and made use of SMART (self monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology) governance by implementing IT-enabled Consent Management System.

Gone are the piles of applications stacked in its office that remained pending not for days or months, sometimes even for years. But now there's a smart computer handling all applications evidently date-wise.

Elated about the new setup, Ajay Gairola, Member Secretary, states, "Permissions sought from the board are of two kinds - to establish an industry and operate one. After any project is set up, the entrepreneur is required to apply every successive year for permission and this was getting very tedious. Now sitting on one's desk, the status of applications can be checked and that has made everyone's work easier, totally transparent and almost immediate."

The results obviously are prompt in sharp contrast to some years ago when applications gathered dust in the UEPPCB office endlessly.

"When I joined UEPPCB in 2009, I was given applications dated 2005 which was appalling," informs Gairola. "Sequentially I was required to reject applications and that's when I realized that something was amiss. Everything seemed to be dependent on the good will of the staff. It was thanks to the vision encouragement of the Chief Minister that the board became proactive and a website was launched. And now all our applications have become time bound. Standardization is expected to come into place all levels. Physical file movement has become bare minimum. RTI related queries and replies, too, can now be done through Ganga XGN in completeness," he informs.

UEPPCB can now even get indicators on the website on areas of improvement. Interestingly as many as five states, including Goa, Uttarakhand, MP, HP and Gujarat, are now connected and simultaneous monitoring is possible.

After the success of this experimentation, the next agenda of UEPPCB is online sensors through networks in all areas, including surface water, ground water, air and soil. "We would also urge the industry to put up their own sensors and do a bit of self-monitoring," Gairola concldues.