e-Panchayat Sabha A digital workplace for Gram-Panchayat Meeting

e-Panchayat Sabha is a digital workflow-based meeting process which facilitates strengthening the process of conducting meetings at the Gram Panchayat (GP) level by providing a digital interface. The application ensures better governance through effective monitoring and implementation of development schemes and social welfare measures. The mobile application, as a supportive and complementary solution, facilitates GP officials to attend to meeting related functions and other stakeholders to access meeting related information and documents anytime – anywhere. These Applications are currently being used by all 6,794 GPs across Odisha. These have replaced paperwork associated with the conduct of statutory monthly/quarterly/half-yearly meetings and improved governance and transparency.

Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are constitutionally mandated bodies for decentralised area based development planning and execution at the local level and to govern the rural areas to ensure economic development & social justice to all the inhabitants at different tiers of Rural Local Governance. Gram Panchayat level meetings must be held at regular intervals as per statutory provisions for the successful planning and implementation of a large number of schemes and services to be catered to the citizens in the rural areas. To ensure accountability, transparency, efficiency and reliability of various activities conducted in meetings at the Gram Panchayat level e-Panchayat Sabha application has been introduced by Government of Odisha.

The e-Panchayat Sabha Web Application is a digital workflow-based meeting process at the Gram Panchayat level. The functionalities cover all meeting-related end-to-end activities starting from system-generated scheduling of meetings to despatch of minutes of meeting (MoM) as rolewise detailed below.

• The Admin user is at GP, Block, District and State level, who has the role in creating user, edcapturing agenda-wise data, despatching notice of meeting with agenda, uploading signed attendance and photo of the meeting, entering Minutes of Meeting (MoM) and Despatching MoM.
• Panchayat Executive Officer (PEO) has the responsibility of initiating meeting schedule, selecting participants of the meeting, preparing agenda, verification/ vetting of agenda-wise data, sending the schedule and agenda to Sarpanch for approval, sending meeting schedule with agenda for despatch, verification of draft MoM prepared, sending the MoM to Sarpanch for approval and finally sending approved MoM for despatch.
• Sarpanch (Presiding Officer) has the role of approval of meeting schedule, agenda and MoM.

System Functionalities

This workflow-based product covers all meeting-related end-to-end activities starting from system-generated scheduling of meetings to despatch of minutes of the meeting as detailed below.

• System-generated meeting scheduling with Meeting ID on 28th of every month for a meeting to be held next month.
• Initiation of the meeting with schedule (Date, Time and Venue)
• Managing agenda and list of participants
• Managing data details as per the Agenda
• Approval of meeting with agenda
• Generation of notice/ letter of meeting with agenda
• Sending of meeting notice / letter with agenda to the participants of the meeting through Sandes Mobile App
• Managing attendance
• Preparation of MoM using the template
• Approval of MoM
• Sending of MoM to the participants of the meeting through Sandes Mobile App
• User Management
• MIS Report generation
• Pushing of Special Agenda from the higher level authorities (State/District/Block) to GP Level Meeting
• Pushing of Special Meeting with Agenda from higher level authorities (State/District/Block) to GP Level Meeting

Salient Features

• Application available in both English and Odia to facilitate the ease of operation at Gram Panchayat level.
• Different MIS reports can be generated with respect to the schemes and agendas of the meetings.
• Dashboard for State Administrator, District Administrator, Block Administrator, GP Administrator, Sarpanch (Presiding Officer), Panchayat Executive Officer and Data Entry Operator login.
• Track meetings
• Geo-tagged photo and attendance uploading through mobile app
• Configurable to implement in PAN India

Integrations

• NIC Chart Interface (NICCI) chatbot has been integrated.
• SMS integrated at strategic processes
• OTP based authentication system
• Sandes (Government Instant Messaging System) mobile app integrated to receive notice with agenda and MoMs by the Participants of the meeting
• Integration of Odisha map with regards to data pertaining to e-Panchayat Sabha

e-Panchayat Sabha web application is transforming Gram Panchayat (GP) into a digitally empowered Institution. This IT solution facilitates conduct of meetings including fixing of meeting date, issue of notices with agenda, circulation of minutes of meeting at GP level through a digital platform. It caters 5T (Transparency, Technology, Teamwork, Time and Transformation) governance model of Government of Odisha in local governance in GP Level and empowers as well as streamlines functioning of PRI Institutions for better developmental planning and project execution in a timely manner. I would like to congratulate NIC, Odisha team for providing technical support and Officials of Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department for making this project a successful.

Sushil Kumar Lohani, IAS

Principal Secretary
Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department
Government of Odisha

Agenda Details

* Periodicity: M- Monthly, Q- Quarterly, H- Half-Yearly

Technologies Used

Web Application

• Server : Linux – Ubuntu-20, Apache Tomcat 10
• Database : PostgreSQL
• Development Platform : Java Spring Boot
• JSP

Mobile app

• Flutter, Android SDK-26

Deployment Environment

• Cloud

Deliverables

• Intimation /alert on meetings to all / targeted stakeholders through Sandes App
• Intimation /alert on cancellation of meetings to all / targeted stakeholders
• 25 types of agenda with periodicity of monthly, quarterly and half yearly have been incorporated. Data formats for different agenda have been designed to be used uniformly
• Issue notice with agenda with all / targeted stakeholders
• Sharing information on new / priority schemes intimated from State / District / Block through Special meeting with agenda / Special agenda
• Share MoM with all / targeted stakeholders
• Share compliance report of last meeting with all/ targeted stakeholders.
• MIS Reports
• Incorporate data / information of different development schemes in the related points of MOM
• Attendance of the participants and Photograph of meeting would be annexed in the MOM.
• System generated MoM

Key benefits

• Strengthening of Process of Conduct of Meetings of Gram Panchayats
• Improved efficiency and transparency of Panchayat Administration
• Ensures better governance through effective monitoring and implementation of development schemes and social welfare measures.
• Members empowerment through availability of information
• Create digital records of all meetings held for better analysis at Block / District / State level

Implementation and Impact Government of Odisha

Since the launch of e-Panchayat Sabha web application on 5th March, 2023, almost all Gram Panchayats have adopted e-Panchayat Sabha for conducting meeting at GP level. It has enhanced the performance of governance by effective monitoring and implementation of different development schemes and social welfare measures. It has strengthened the process of conduct of regular meetings of gram panchayats, improved efficiency and transparency of panchayat administration. Members’ empowerment has been achieved through availability of information. It creates digital records of all meetings held at GP

Fig 7.2: A glimpse of e-Panchayat Sabha meeting scheduled using ePS Application at Satyabhanpur, Odisha

Way Forward

Alerts to higher officials on meetings not held, eSign / DSC Integration for signing of agenda and MoMs, Integration of Speech to Text AI in regional language, API Integration of different Schemes etc. are in pipeline to expand the scope the application. An end-to-end application is being envisioned with similar functionalities to be made available at Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad level and thus disseminating the development process with bottom to top approach.

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• eGov
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