Welcome to India's IT village

MUMBAI, INDIA: Bibipur, a small village in Jind district of Haryana, is no different from other Indian villages in its set up. But what sets it apart from others is the use web technology to provide easy access to information.

“Our idea behind creating a website was to provide information and maintain transparency in the village. Through the website, villagers can have access to the functioning of panchayat and its works,” says Sunil Kumar, sarpanch, Bibipur village.

Kumar, a bachelor in computer science, was instrumental in creating village's portal — www.bibipur.com in October 2010.

Bibipur's portal provides all vital information about the village under categories like Facilities, Voter list, Bill, Panchayat, scheme and Resolution. If the Facilities section gives details about schools, medical, sports, banking and transport facilities, the Voter List section provides access to village population with details of individual voters.

Other sections like Panchayat, Bill etc, display documents related to village works undertaken by the panchayat, its functioning, paid vouchers and bills. All such documents are scanned and then uploaded to facilitate easy access for people.

Of the total 6,000 population, Kumar points out, 60-70 per cent are educated and some 30-40 own computers and laptops. “Only 3-4 persons are having Internet connection and they are basically students undertaking IT diploma courses,” he adds.

So, with limited presence of computer devices and Internet connections, how can villagers access website? “In order to make villagers aware, we connect computers with a projector to show the website. As some people are having laptops and data cards, we visit elderly people in the village and try to make them understand about the portal,” Kumar replies.

Beside being a village head, Kumar works as a director at the Haryana College of Education. He says they didn't get any help from the government. “We had to bear all the costs.”

“I want our IT initiative to act as a model for other villages of Haryana and other states.Only IT can help you to maintain transparency and good governance,” Kumar notes.