In a significant move toward enhancing transparency, speed, and accountability in the functioning of the Maharashtra Legislature, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday inaugurated a state-of-the-art digital dashboard designed for real-time tracking of various pending parliamentary motions.
The dashboard will provide instant updates on the status of pending parliamentary matters, including starred and unstarred questions, calling-attention motions, half-hour discussions, special mentions, and points of propriety. Officials stated that this system will significantly bridge the coordination gap between the state government and the legislature.
During the event, Legislature Secretary Jitendra Bhole detailed the dashboard’s features and reviewed the institution’s ongoing digital transformation roadmap. He noted that a resolution to completely digitise both houses was adopted in July 2022.
As part of this initiative, high-tech multimedia conference systems have been installed at every member’s desk, providing legislators with seamless access to daily House proceedings, the official legislative website, and relevant online resources.
Plans are also underway to make library reference materials available directly inside the chamber with a single click. Furthermore, the legislature’s ambitious digitisation project has gained momentum. Debates and proceedings dating back to 1937 have already been digitised, along with an audiovisual archive of house proceedings since 2013.
This repository will serve as a vital resource for researchers, members, and the administration. Efforts are currently underway to provide digital copies of government gazettes, bills, budget publications, Governor’s addresses, legislative and inquiry committee reports, updates on state corporations and universities, election-related rulings, government schemes, member profiles, and landmark judicial judgments.
The digital transition received an extra push in December 2024. Initiated by the Chairman, the ‘e-Office’ system was first introduced in his office before being rolled out across the entire Legislature Secretariat. Today, the majority of administrative operations are handled through e-Office, benefiting operations at both ministerial and regional levels, including various committee workflows.
Systems like e-HRMS (Human Resource Management System), MahaPAR, and e-RTI are slated for integration in the near future. The newly launched digital dashboard is set to replace the traditional paper-based tracking of parliamentary motions, digitising the entire legislative lifecycle.
It will provide immediate access to the current status, pending lists, and department-wise breakdowns of legislative actions. The system will also be utilised extensively by the Committee on Subordinate Legislation (“Papers Laid on the Table”).
By enabling the Chief Secretary and administrative secretaries of various departments to monitor pending parliamentary queries online, the process of submitting official responses is expected to become much faster and more accountable.
The dashboard is being viewed as a crucial tool for reinforcing the government’s accountability to the legislature, paving the way for a more modern, transparent, and efficient parliamentary ecosystem in the state.