Web 2.0, CRP for a better city: Saraph

By Pratima Harigunani

PUNE,INDIA: Web 2.0-based information systems, CRP (City Resource Planning), vendor-wikis, citizen-wikis and service-based city management would, in all possibility, be the drivers in Pune, if Dr. Anupam Saraph, its

newly- appointed chief information officer transforms his ideas into reality.

“Why can't we have citizens and other stakeholders participating in the city's development? All across the world, especially in the US, we are witnessing a change from product-based approach to service-based one,” said Saraph to CyberMedia News.

“Why ERP, why not CRP where a set of services can be generated and managed by all authorities like RTOs, municipal bodies, collectors, NGOs and citizens together? I have many such ideas around which I would like to create Web 2.0. Let citizens decide what they need. Every vendor and CIO is tapping into the wave of Web 2.0 and collaboration-driven systems. This would be my central theme too," said Saraph.

Saraph wishes to grow the Rs 50,000 crore GDP sized Pune to match Surat, which is growing at a 12 per cent rate p.a., compared to Pune's seven per cent.

"There is a lot of uncontrolled and unmanaged growth and chaos happens when information is not available at the right place and at the right time. Despite having a wonderful legacy of software projects, Pune faces the dilemma of these implementations not being able to talk to each other. Collaboration, hence, would be the key to my efforts," he said.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Software Exporter’s Association of Pune (SEAP) appointed Saraph as Pune’s CIO on Monday.

SEAP dons the role of a facilitator and sponsor. Saraph’s tenure as the CIO would last for three years. His past experience spans across various public and private sector stints with a major role in driving e-governance in Goa.

Nitin Deshpande, head - SEAP, said earlier in a press meet that SEAP would help this first-of-its-kind initiative by indirect funding, contributing bench staff for the required technical manpower at the new CIO office and ongoing suggestions and inputs.

Pune would see a major ERP implementation being rolled out by PMC at a total budget of Rs 40 to 45 crore. "The total IT budget for the coming year is Rs30 to 35 crore and Rs15 crore for ERP in the first phase," said Ambarish Galinde, joint commissioner, chief accounts at PMC, who was also present at the announcement.

PMC has taken up PWC's services to conduct this exercise and the complete ERP is expected to be done in about two years. City CIOs are a novel but widely experimented phenomenon in international counterparts like New York, California and San Francisco.

In December 2007, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Teresa (Teri) M. Takai as the state chief information officer.

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