This is first of the series related to suggestions to make the work process smarter in a Village Office in Kerala I usually write things based on what comes to mind or based on such some assumptions. But, this post, is based on the first-hand experience on the job as a village officers and my understanding of the typical work-load faced by Village Officers in Kerala.
Quick Primer about the Public Perception about Village Office
Village Offices are generally seen in a bad light by the public. Any doubt about it! I mean the general perception is like that!
The reason for the negative perception towards govt officials are from the experiences aired by public. One reason is that bureaucratic process and delay makes it frustrating for people to get things on time. Second is that public think that govt officials find some loophole in the rules to delay the process or reject the application. Finally, these days Whatsapp video clip of bribery by village office staff caught on camera has compounded this negative bias. After all, the negative news travel faster!
These days, at least one incident a month related to bribery appears on newspaper and on TV and it spread across social media. The news hungry online channels are ready to lap anything that's negative and splashes it across their channels!
Stop Excess Publicity of Negative Stories
The key culprit starts with the video footage. These days, vigilance officers shoot the entire proceeding of trapping govt officials on camera. The footage usually shows the officials with the bribe money surrounded by gleaming officials. And, once the thing is captured and share outside, then such news travel fast!
I firmly think such incidents should not be give too much online coverage. Capturing the proceeding on video is fine as a record, but sharing it to the outside world is not in the best interest of people affected, for the govt and public.
Though, it's a wrong doing act by a public officer, sharing glaring images leads to personal stress and putting such a mark all through their life. What's the need for that?
Moreover, it badly effects the person, his family, for the colleagues, the Revenue Department, and it impacts the public image toward the staff and office. ( ഒരു തെറ്റ് ചെയ്തു, അത് ആർക്കും സംഭവിക്കാം - എന്നെ അധികം ക്രൂശിക്കരുത്) I
I know many will differ with my opinion, however, I feel it this way!
So, who is the primary culprit? How to reduce such incidents?
Well, it's easy to pin point the fault at the Village officers or staff. But, what are the other reasons or circumstances ( സാഹചര്യങ്ങൾ ) that are driving them to take bribe? . How can we streamline the work of village officer so that we can make the work more organized and process oriented. ( I I'm interested in this part of the process👆)
Work Profile at Village Office
Here's an interesting stats from Hindu daily reported in 2019. It says that "4.83 crore certificates have been issued, over the past six years" Just look at the sheer number of certificates approved through Edistrict site by various offices and departments!
If we look at the number of village offices in Kerala, Wiki has this answer. According to Wiki,there are 78 taluks with 1670 villages. That means, 1600 odd villages officers, plus staff in villages which are the core strength of the Revenue department.
Village Officers are endowed in a multi-faceted role at the grass root level. Out of the many duties, one key task is the task of approving certificates. The certificates are usually requested through Akshaya centers or through jana sevaka kendram. Once a certificate is uploaded, it comes to the villages officers login in the portal called E-district kerala.
Through this post, I'm suggesting a 3 or 4 different solution to reduce repetitive work, hoping that this reduction will help Village Officers to perform better and enable them to focus on more important work.
Background of Work in a Village Office
As you are aware, Village Officers handle a multitude of tasks, and one of it is the issuance of various certificates. Overall some 23 types of certificates are issued by the village officers. Out of that certificates like Caste (OBC) and community certificates (SC/ST) are important, as this gives different benefits to people.
For the public, certificates are required for many purposes. From school to college admission, for applying for senior citizen pension or applying for priority ration card, and many applying for social benefit schemes. As per the current process, Village Officer will manually verify credentials based on supporting document, such as school certificates of parents, ration, aadhar card, govt issued certificate, and in some cases even conduct local inspection and furnish a report.
For all these work, village officer is the primary responsible agent of the government As a key person, he or she can get into trouble if there's a mistake in issuing certificate! Each certificate is like a Sword of Damocles! It can go wrong as some wrong judgement can even result in memo or even higher disciplinary action. ⚔️
What are the Current Challenges faced by Village Officers:
1. There many criteria for issuing a certificate. It's difficult for a person burdened with many responsibilities to know all the rules, latest amendments at his or her fingertips. Even thought there's a guide in the form of Village Officers Manual, the modification to any rule is not included.
Btw, I wish the VO's are given a week's time to get adjusted to the new office. (Well, that's not possible with an acute shortage of staff)
A newly promoted VO's are often faced with a barrage of pending work, plus, there are certificates that gets piled up on the E-district. Also, these days public are restless and have no qualms to call Village Officers at any time of the day or night to enquire about the certificate. What all can a person do in day!
3. Apart from the public requests for certificate, there are immediate requests from Taluk office, Collectorate, Court, Police Station ( for scene plan), meeting, Online and offline meeting, Land Acquistion related task, survey related field visit, incidents that happen within the village and what not! 😖
On top of it, if there are natural calamities in the area, then village officers are the first person to arrange all the ground work. Also, there are Election related work, law and order problem, and any thing that affects their village.
Proposed Solutions To Automate and Reduce the Workload
To address these challenges, I propose Three Fold Plan :
1. Automation with (AI) algorithms ( Tired of Manual Verification? Kerala’s E-District Automation Could Be the Lifesaver for Village Offices!
2. Online help documents ( Information at their finger tips)
3. Instant Chat Support ( Centralized support system for Village Officers)
Edistrict - Smart Automation
The main goal of this proposal is to introduce work automation or AI. In my perception, any automation will reduce the manual work, alleviate unnecessary tension, minimize backlogs, bring standardized process (SOP) and reduce the delay in the issue of certificate.
1. Automation with (AI)
With the introduction of AI camera, people in this state have a fair idea about the way AI works. Even a common man knows that the smarter camera is able to send traffic chellan with the proof. Yes, that's the way AI technology can read things, judge things and make a decision, often better than a human eye!
Document Scanning and Verification:
The E-District application can be upgraded with OCR technology (Optical Character Recognition). So, what is OCR Technology? OCR technology enables machines to read and extract data from scanned documents, image files, or handwritten text. ( More info in this link)
This system can instantly read the documents attached as proof, check the eligibility of the applicants based on predefined criteria. What you say?
Currently, such systems are used in many govt departments and private offices.
b. Automated Rejection and Initiating Re-submission:
In cases where scanned documents are unclear or critical information is missing, the system will automatically reject the application and request for re-submission with the required documents. This reduces the need for manual intervention and speeds up the process.
C Quick Clearance
If the supporting documents are in order, and sufficient proof is submitted, then the built-in AI tool will automatically tick all the requisites and send the application for approval. Either the VO can do a quick recheck or it can directly approve the certificate. In case of 100% automated process, the application approval can happens in seconds.
For example - there are cases when people apply for a certificate even when the certificate validity is not over. In such cases, the tool can instantly check the prior certificate and approve the certificate without any manual intervention. For instance, income certificate once issued is valid for one year.
( This is just one scenario on how fast approvals can be done by AI)
d. Handling Complex Cases:
In case the application which does not have clear documentary proof, or in cases this applicant is applying Community certificate or Caste Certificate for the first time, then the system can flag these for detailed verification by Village Officers. This ensures that only the more straightforward cases are automated, while complex cases are given a first-hand verification.
2. Comprehensive Help Documents on E-district Portal
This one is simple to implement. The idea is to update all documents for quick reference in edistrict platform. ( MUST IMPLEMENT SUGGESTION)
a. Centralized Help Document Repository:
The E-District managing team can compile all relevant documents and criteria pertaining to various certificates into a centralized, easily accessible repository on e-district platform. This set of document (s) should include a simple help document available in both English and Malayalam.It will be a single-post reference to clear all doubts.
Currently, village officers refer to the Village Officers Manual and other circulars, check other VO's for tips, or refer to documents for approving the certificate. This takes considerable time as it's not standardized process.
b. Categorization and Search Functionality:
Each caste and community can be listed under appropriate headings (e.g., OBC) with clear eligibility criteria. Additionally, a search option can be included where users can type the caste name and instantly receive information regarding its eligibility. Also, keep a faq section for each menu which can clear many common doubts. Moreover, a comprehensive and updated help guide will be the much needed guide to all the queires.
One suggestions here ! Don' t make the help document too complicated like certain rules in KSR. Make it very clear! For this, we need some clear headed people to chalk out the plan!
3 Instant Chat Support
There are many expert Village Officers who are honest people and who know the in and outs of the rules for the issue of certificate. So, what's required is to find these people,two or three or more, and keep them as experts who can answer to any requests received online
For this, edistrict should have a seperate log-in or app for village officers to request for information. The people at the help desk could be retired hands who can provide correct information. Also, all the chats will be saved for quick reference.
3. 24/7 Call Centre for Certificate
How about creating a call support services,which will work 24/7 with a helpline number. All the certificates will first come to this call centre and only certain others will be routed to village officers log-in. Also, all the calls with regard to the certificates will be heard by this call centre. Certificate enquiry will be handed by this call centre. Now, village officer who has a official number has to address such calls.
With the implementation of call centre, the work load will be halfed and the process will be faster. Also, public can call this centre at any time and check the status of the application! Any initial correction, document requirements will be communicated by the call centre to the indivividual. Only when the cases require site visit and report, VO comes int the picture.
Such a system will take more than half of the work load of the village officers. I think with this suggestion, village officers will put haram (Povu chanda) on me. I just thought of a scene where Jagathy Sreekumar says about this. 😃
Key 4 Benefits for village officers and for revenue department:
1. Significant reduction in workload for Village Officers. Happy working!
2. Decrease in processing time, leading to better public image
3. Reduction in errors and inconsistencies.Automated systems are less prone to human errors, ensuring more accurate certificate issuance.
4. Increased productivity for Village Officers. If help documents are uploaded on the platform for reference, will save time collecting and storing paper records.
5. Immediate access to up-to-date information. ( Knowledge of latest rules at the finger tips).
Benefit for Akshya Centres/Janaseveka Kendrams and for public
1.Information and eligibility criteria on the site will be a ready reckoner
2. Immediate scrutiny help in better service to the public
3. Public too will be well informed about the criteria. When an individual uses edistrict platform to request an application, the tool will prompt the list of documents to be uploaded as proof. So, such clear cut and intuitive application saves time and provides first-hand information.
Implementing these solutions will have several positive social impact:
Time Savings:
✅ Automation will be able to handle routine checks and verification, allowing Village Officers to focus on more critical tasks.
✅ Quick reference help documents will save time spent on manual searches.
✅ Clear guidelines in help documents will minimize misunderstandings and mistakes.
Improved Work-Life Balance for Village Officers
Reduced workload will prevent officers from having to work extra hours, thereby improving their health and well-being. These days, I think most vo's in Kerala has only work, all imbalance. The current method of work is toxic for many employees, F**king system.
Public pressure and harassment will be minimized as the process becomes more transparent and efficient.
Enhanced Productivity:
Once the process is streamlined ( with VFO) Village Officers can dedicate more time to field work, or attend to more critical tasks, thereby enabling better governance.
Streamlined processes will lead to faster turnaround times for certificate issuance, enhancing public satisfaction.
Cost Savings:
Efficient use of time translates to cost savings for the government, as fewer resources will be needed to handle the same volume of work.
Long-term savings from reduced errors and quicker processes.
Appeal to Authorities
I appeal to the collectors, secretaries, and IT mission teams to consider the immense potential of this proposal. By investing in automation and comprehensive documentation, we can revolutionize the way Village Offices operate, leading to significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and employee well-being.
Furthermore, these advancements will position our administrative processes as a model for others to emulate, showcasing our commitment to innovation and public service excellence. ( The Govt can showcase it in the next election about the way it's geared to help common man with smart and faster clearance of certificates)
In conclusion, I hope this proposal is given due consideration and that steps are taken to implement these suggestions. I am confident that with the collective efforts of the relevant authorities, we can bring about a trans-formative change in the functioning of Village Offices.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. I look forward to any feedback or discussions on how we can further refine and implement these ideas.
Yours sincerely,
P.S - This solution could be implemented in other departments where certificates are issued!
N:B - One stop online help document is a key thing which can solve and help most doubts and confusion related to the issue of certificate. Also, this document should be updated on a weekly basis to add changes and to make it easy! MAKE IT SIMPLE, STUPID!
Another tip which I picked from Chris Borgan's newsletter is this line - You don’t get extra points for doing things the hard way. Based on this line, I feel it's high time Govt takes steps to change the 100% manual verification process to an automated or semi-automatic process.
KISS - an acronym for 'Keep It Simple, Stupid' - is a design principle that asserts that systems perform best when they are kept simple rather than made complex.
Coming up - Police Station Reformation Post 🚀 (Speculative post)
Check this Post about Emergency Loan Scheme for Govt Servants
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