Reflect and ICTs - case study undp kiosks

Case study:
Visit to UNDP IT Kiosk, Orissa

By Sigrun Rottmann

Bolangir in the State of Orissa is one of the poorest districts in the country, with 90 per cent of its population living below the poverty line. The 13 million inhabitants of this region experience frequent droughts (1899, 1956, 1996, 2000, 2002). Social disparities and discrimination based on caste, class and gender are common. It is also common for governing bodies to deny the poor and vulnerable their basic rights. Government is ripe with corruption at all levels, while the poor suffer chronic hunger. Every year tens of thousands of people attempt to escape misery by migrating to neighbouring states.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS) first started IT initiatives in Orissa as part of UNDP's rehabilitation efforts following the super cyclone in 1999. A team of National UN Volunteers (NUVs) set up local information kiosks in the coastal region of the state and provided training to self-help groups and local government officials in the 13 Blocks most affected by the cyclone.

In 2001, UNDP and UNITeS extended their IT initiative to Bolangir, where eight IT kiosks have been installed so far. Their main partner is the Indian Government, which means that at the local and regional level staff collaborate closely with the Panchayat as well as Block and District Administrations. According to the UNDP IT Co-ordinator in Bolangir, seven of the eight kiosks are run in co-operation with local NGOs. Overall management is, however, carried out by the respective Panchayat in each if the eight head villages where computers have been installed.

UNDP and UNITeS have also installed a "Block Management Information System" on the only PC in the Block office in Komana. It contains the administration's database and archives and is run by a UN Volunteer who also provides computer training for civil servants. For the time being the computer in Komana is only used for presentation and training, as this is the only office in the district that has this software at its disposal. The main objectives of the System are to improve information management, communication between governing bodies, to increase transparency and accountability and thus provide a better service for citizens.

On my visit in April 2003, neither the National UN Volunteer in Komana nor the UNDP IT Co-ordinator were able to predict when all government offices in the district will have a computer, not to speak of a management software or the appropriate telephone connection.

Both IT Kiosks and Block Information Management System are part of UNDP's efforts to support the Indian Government in the implementation of its comprehensive e-Governance strategy. This promotes the computerisation of government services on all levels but so far does not include concrete plans as to how achieve equitable access for citizens to these services.

According to UNDP's IT Co-ordinator in Bolangir, the initiative's objective is "to reduce vulnerability and strengthen livelihood". This would be achieved by considerably reducing the cost of government documents and by providing information on agricultural issues etc. Citizens usually loose a day's work when travelling to the Block or District Administration to request information and forms, and documents cost up to 100 Rupees each when purchased from the Government directly. The IT kiosks charge customers one or two Rupees per form.

Management: The IT kiosk in Ghunsar consists of a PC and a printer located next to the Gram Panchayat offices. Like all IT Kiosks in Bolangir, the kiosk in Ghunsar is run by a so-called volunteer. All volunteers have been recruited from the ranks of the national youth organisation NYK and trained by the UNDP IT Coordinator. They receive a salary of at least 1000 Rupees a month (approximately £14). Their brief is to provide computer services to citizens (printing of documents etc), to teach computer classes (at 50 Rupees a month) and to visit each of the (in this case nine) Panchayat villages at least every two weeks to promote the services available at the kiosk. The UNDP assumes that those present at the village meetings spread the news to family and friends. All volunteers are from the area, although most do not come from the village where they work.

Revenues from the kiosk are passed on to the Panchayat and used to pay for cartridges, paper and other equipment. The Panchayat can also choose to increase the volunteer's salary. For the delivery of cartridges and spare parts, the kiosks still depend on UNDP staff. They also scan new government documents and other materials, save them on CD-ROM or floppy disks and pass them on to the volunteers at the kiosks for system updates.

Users: Ghunsar is one of the poorest areas in Bolangir District, with most of the population living below the poverty line (BPL) and entitled to BPL-benefits. According to the Sarpanch (the elected people's representative on the Panchayat), of the 6000 inhabitants under this Panchayat, 50 per cent are registered as Scheduled Tribes, and 30 per cent are Scheduled Caste ("Untouchables"). An estimated 25 per cent know how to read and write.

According to UNDP staff, an average of 15 to 20 users has visited the kiosk per month since it was established in December 2001. This number rises considerably on special occasions. For example, when the government recently declared a drought emergency, 150 people came to the kiosk to apply for crop insurance. The Panchayat then forwarded the applications to the appropriate governing body. The volunteer estimates that 70 per cent of customers who come to collect forms and information how to read and write. All of the 30 to 35 young people who attend computer courses are literate.

Efficiency
So far, the IT Kiosks have not been able to operate as efficiently as envisaged. Ghunsar, for example, is connected to the electricity network but experiences frequent power-failures. The UNDP IT Coordinator is thinking about installing solar panels but so far finds them too expensive.

UNDP and Government experts have developed a web portal www.aamagaon.com, an interface that offers a knowledge hub with government information and documents, an online grievance system and online soil testing and crop planning. But on my visit in April 2003, none of the kiosks could be connected to this portal or any other network because of the lack of dial-up lines.

Participation and Ownership: The UNDP IT Coordinator calls the initiative "a project for people and by people. We only give technical support". He explains that UNDP carried out a needs assessment in the area before implementing the project, and that he expects the kiosks to be handed over "to the communities" in 2004.

On the other hand, "the Panchayat has full control" of the project, and after the UNDP pulls out, all e-Governance applications in Bolangir, including the kiosks, will be managed by the District IT Society - a committee of civil servants representing different government bodies and departments in Bolangir.

Great care needs to be taken when assuming that "Panchayat" equals "community", especially in a region where officials have a track-record of acting against the interest of large parts of the community.

We did not have the opportunity to ask villagers whom they perceive to be the owners of the initiative and if they feel that the kiosk meets their information needs. It will be interesting to observe how the role of the IT kiosks evolves in a context where aspects of information, communication, technology and power have not been discussed by citizens and they did not contribute to development of the project and the choices of technology.

Accountabilty and Access: Asked how UNDP ensures that Panchayat members use the IT kiosk fairly and allow equal access of all inhabitants regardless of caste, class and gender, the IT Co-ordinator answers that "the Block controls the Panchayat in the management of this project". Moreover, he himself visits each kiosk once a month for two days to check for problems and complains. During those visits he also talks to villagers to monitor if people are aware of the kiosks and the service they provide.

A UNDP brochure about the initiative in Bolangir states that the "IT Kiosks will help the Gram Panchayats in maintaining transparency […], therefore providing an enabling atmosphere for the Panchayats to carry forward Social Audits."

There is no doubt about the potential of supplying government information and benefits, which are otherwise hard to come by. Moreover, it is important to involve local governing bodies if community projects are to succeed.

Yet the assumption that Panchayat councils wish to be transparent and carry out Social Audits and will find this easier when equipped with information media have to be treated with caution. Experiences with local and regional government bodies in Bolangir indicate that more often than not they are reluctant to be transparent.

We were not able to conduct a survey in the Ghunsar villages and hamlets and ask if all community members have access to the IT kiosk if community members feel that all citizens profit from the initiative. The UNDP IT Coordinator himself admitted that women had been one of his original target-group. But they were staying away "because they are illiterate". For him illiteracy is one of the main "barriers" for citizens to use the kiosk. Yet the UNDP has not yet come up with any plans as to how this barrier might be removed.

Considering the history of government corruption and social disparity in many villages, I see the danger that Panchayat officials or members of the elite might highjack a project that is so powerful, prestigious and profitable. They might try to exclude the marginalized and poorest community members from it, undermining the main objective of the initiative.

How local power structures and social hierarchies can hamper an IT project can be learned from Gyandoot, a government initiative in Dhar district in the State of Madhya Pradesh. In January 2000, Panchayats and local business people set up an IT initiative with the objective to install community-owned and sustainable information technology that would deliver a Government-to-Citizen service in the poorest rural areas. In total, more than 41 IT kiosks were installed and connect through an Intranet system. The kiosks were managed privately (mostly young people) or by Panchayats who appointed young volunteers for the day-to-day running and maintance. The project was internationally acclaimed and was awarded the Stockholm Challenge Award 2000.

However, Gyandoot has not only suffered from technical difficulties. It has also emerged that three years after the start of the project, "severe discrimination at the panchayat level leaves nearly no opportunity for the educated poor and the marginalised" to manage an IT kiosk. Moreover, many members of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Casts are still ignorant of the project and in some places are not allowed to enter the kiosk. As a result of the discrimination and social exclusion long practised in the communities by civil servants and/or the local elite, Gyandoot so far has not been able to achieve its main objectives. (see Gyandoot report by Action Aid India IT Manager Alok Sanjay, June 2002)

The story of Gyandoot points to the difficulty of promoting social change through introducing new technologies and media without an analysis of existing power structures by the community - a discussion that should include issues of caste, class and gender. Projects with similar set-up like the UNDP IT kiosks should beware of running into the same difficulties.

Sustainability: Sustainability of this UNDP initiative will have to be evaluated after management of the kiosks has been completely handed over to the government. It will then become clear if the kiosks, established without full participation of the communities and without a comprehensive communication strategy, can be sustained in the long run. It also remains to be seen if electoral processes, changes of officials and political conflicts will have an impact on the sustainability of the kiosks.

The Concept of Information and Communication: The IT kiosks installed by UNDP and UNITeS aim at providing citizens with quick and cheap access to government information and documents, as well as offering limited opportunities for communication with civil servants and experts. This bears great potential for the improvement of government services.

Yet it might be useful to look at other options beside of the one-way supply of information selected by experts and civil servants. Computers offer a wide range of techniques for communication and documentation, and these might be accessed by basing a project on a comprehensive communication strategy that could include access to other information sources, dissemination of local knowledge by community members or communication beyond the citizen-government exchange.