Uttar Pradesh Assembly all set to go paperless, holds learning session for MLAs
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly’s members appeared keen to learn the basics of National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) as the legislative body launched a training programme for them in its bid to go paperless. Besides organising three sessions of orientation programme for new members in the past two days, the assembly secretariat held a special training session for all the members, including the ministers.
“Don’t hesitate. There should be no hesitation in learning. Ask whatever you want to know,” said Speaker Satish Mahana, while presiding over the training session in the Vidhan Bhawan Hall here on Saturday.
Mahana informed a NeVA service centre had also been set up within the Vidhan Bhawan premises to train 60 members at one time. He said the NeVA service centre would continue to function during and after the state legislature’s budget session scheduled to commence here on May 23.
As teams of National Informatics Centre (NIC) along with others ran from desk to desk to impart lessons in use of NeVA, the members rose from their seats putting up their queries and complaining about what they were not able to find on their devices. If there were questions about how to look at or post questions online, the members also wanted to learn about where they would be able to access the governor’s address, the budget speech or put up supplementary questions.
When some members began asking about what was yet to be briefed, Speaker Satish Mahana asked them to take their seats and said, “You are still in 1st standard (of learning) and you are putting up questions of a PhD student.”
The NIC teams had begun briefing the members about how to log in and get the day’s agenda. More enquiries were made when instructors briefed the members about use of applications like ‘my notes’ to enable them get their personal notes on their devices.
BSP MLA Uma Shankar Singh pointed out that no application named ‘my notes’ was visible on the device.
Surya Pratap Shahi, a cabinet minister, also wanted to know about the use of the application. As the proceedings of state legislature have to go paperless in a phased manner, the assembly secretariat has made elaborate arrangements.
Every member in the house has been assigned a desk fitted with the device he would have to use even to mark attendance and e-voting.
When members pointed out that the devices had been fixed to the desk in the House and the members needed tablets to send questions online or do other important work, Mahana announced he would speak to the parliamentary affairs minister and all the new members would get devices on the pattern given to the members in the previous House.
The Assembly secretariat proposes to give paper copies too during the budget session. They would be withdrawn in the subsequent session. A paperless budget was presented in 2021-2022.