While the state government is emphasizing providing quick and easy access to services to the public through e-governance, the departments do not seem to be taking these efforts seriously. The situation is such that they are not updating the website, uk.gov.in, which was created for all government orders. This can be gauged from the fact that out of 58 departments listed on the website, 42 have not uploaded a single new government order since 2024. These include departments like Tourism, Transport, Soldiers’ Welfare, Skill Development, Finance, Home, Industrial Development, Food and Disaster Management. As a result, the public cannot access information about important departmental decisions online. The state government is currently focusing on online services to ensure transparency and efficiency in departmental work. For this, the government has created a website called ‘Digital Uttarakhand’. Through this website, the public can pay their electricity and water bills and also access information about government orders issued by various departments from time to time. Clicking on the relevant link opens the website related to that service. A similar site has been created for government orders. It has an icon labeled ‘Government Order’ (GO) which, when clicked, displays the government orders of the respective departments. The names of 58 departments are listed on this website, along with information about their government orders. Despite strict government guidelines, the departments are showing no interest in uploading the orders. However, the Water Supply, AYUSH, Urban Development, Public Works, Panchayati Raj, and Health departments are exceptions. The situation with the remaining departments can be understood from the fact that the Protocol Department last uploaded a government order in 2011. Meanwhile, the Language Department, the Chief Minister’s Office, the State Reorganization Department, and the Cabinet Secretariat have not bothered to upload any official orders into this system since 2014, 2017, and 2018 respectively. Eight other departments haven’t uploaded any official orders since 2018. Nine departments uploaded their last official order into the system in 2024. “This matter is serious. It’s a case of negligence. We will investigate why this is happening.” – Anand Vardhan, Chief Secretary
