Jayesh Ranjan to Head Joint IT Committee
HYDERABAD: The Telangana government has constituted a joint committee to coordinate common digital services and information technology infrastructure after the bifurcation of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) into three civic bodies. The government issued orders on Wednesday to ensure uninterrupted management of shared IT services across the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Cyberabad Municipal Corporation and Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation.
Under Government Order No. 541 issued by the Metropolitan Area and Urban Development Department, Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan has been appointed chairman of the committee. The commissioners of GHMC, CMC and MMC will serve as members, while additional commissioners of the IT departments in the three corporations will act as conveners.
Shared digital services to continue without disruption
The government said all common IT projects, digital platforms, software contracts, cloud and hosting services, and annual maintenance contracts functioning jointly for the three corporations will continue without interruption.
The three corporations will normally share maintenance expenditure equally. However, the committee has been authorised to decide cost-sharing based on usage requirements when necessary.
The orders stated that changes in ongoing projects, technical upgrades, financial revisions and data migration proposals can be implemented only after approval from the joint committee.
Committee approval mandatory for new projects
The government also directed that all future IT projects, regional e-governance systems and proposals related to common digital infrastructure must first be examined by the committee.
The committee will review proposals based on technical feasibility, financial viability, cyber security, data governance and scalability before granting approval.
The government allowed each corporation to independently implement software systems or modules suited to local administrative requirements. However, it imposed conditions that such systems should not affect shared services or disturb regional digital uniformity.
The committee has also been entrusted with oversight of facial recognition systems, Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS), GPS-based monitoring, internet leased lines, SMS gateways, mobile SIM digital verification services and other IT services.
Monthly review meetings planned
The committee will meet at least once every month to review project progress, cyber security, expenditure, digital service management and upcoming e-governance programmes. The orders stated that special meetings may also be convened to address urgent matters.
The government said the committee was necessary to ensure uninterrupted digital services after the GHMC bifurcation, improve citizen service delivery, control expenditure and strengthen coordination among the three corporations.
