Sindh cabinet meetings to be held in paperless environment

The Sindh government has decided that soon the meetings of the provincial cabinet will be held in a paperless environment with the extensive use of information technology and digital technology.

The decision was reached during a meeting held at the Sindh Secretariat on Saturday to discuss the ways and means to promote the IT sector in the province.

Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Muhammad Sohail Rajput chaired the meeting. Special Assistant to the CM on IT Tanzeela Umi Habiba, and other senior officials and experts related to IT attended the meeting.

The CS was of the view that the expenses being incurred on convening the sessions of the Sindh cabinet would be brought down by using digital means of official record-keeping, while holding official meetings in a paperless environment would also be a good step toward the cause of environmental protection.

The officials of the Sindh Information, Science & Technology Department briefed the meeting that one of the projects executed by them was the installation of security surveillance cameras at the places of worship of religious minorities in the province at a cost of Rs382 million.

The video-conferencing facility for the provincial government is being upgraded at a cost of Rs189 million. The project of setting up IT labs and Wi-Fi facilitation centres is being carried out in Badin and at the Abdul Khaliq Jumma Hall of Lyari.

The proposal for a project having an estimated cost of Rs304 million for introducing the system of e-governance in the Sindh Livestock & Fisheries Department has been sent to the planning & development department for approval.

The CS asked the officials of the IT department to initiate the process of digitising the offices of the secretaries of different provincial departments.

He said that the Sindh government is completely committed to the resolve to offer assistance to the people associated with the IT sector. Recommendations will also be sent by the Sindh government for improving the taxation system for the IT sector.

He also said that the provincial government would establish an autonomous provincial-level board to govern the field of IT with the involvement of the relevant experts from the public and private sectors.

The CS said that the proposed provincial-level board would be responsible for launching new development projects related to the field of IT, while the Sindh government would also hold an IT training workshop during the month.

He said that the provincial government would provide the utmost assistance to promote the field of IT. He also said that there was no dearth of properly qualified and skilled workforce in the country related to the fields of IT, science and technology.

He pointed out that the Pakistani youth is a true asset to the nation, so they should be provided with a conducive environment related to the modern fields of science and technology to enable them to play their due role in the development and progress of the country.