Data from 2012, Punjab portals slacking

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 4

While the Punjab Government boasts of using information technology in a big way, websites of different departments instead of sharing latest information continue to carry misleading content.

The official portal of the Agriculture Department shows Jasbir Singh Bains as the Director even though he superannuated a long time ago. The present Director is Sutantar Kumar Airi. The last information posted in the news and update section was in January 2019.

Similarly, the website of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, which deals with key aspects of health research and programmes, last updated its post regarding statistics in 2012. Even the budget expenditure details on the website date back to 2011-12.

The Department of Medical Education and Research, headed by the same minister and dealing with tertiary healthcare, hardly posts latest information on its website. It is of little help to medical aspirants. In the meetings section, the last post was made in 2014.

Also, circulars and details of meetings were last posted on the Department of Forests & Wildlife Preservation website in 2015. The Civil List of officers of the IFS and Punjab Forest Services dates back to 2016.

The portal of the Transport Department claims to offer online services for payment of taxes and vehicle registration at the dealer’s desk. But the pages related to both services don’t open.

Over 60 per cent of the state’s population lives in villages and the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats deals with programmes in the rural areas. But the last information was posted in 2017.

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•  Agriculture Department
•  Dept of Health and Family Welfare
•  Dept of Medical Education & Research
•  Dept of Forests & Wildlife Preservation
•  Transport Department
•  Dept of Rural Development & Panchayats

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