Saharsa(Bihar) : First District To Be Declared Paperless
Saharsa became the first district in Bihar to be declared paperless (e-office) with an aim to end the Great Indian Red Tape.
Red Tape:
- It is a derisive term for excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making.
- It is usually applied to the government but can also be applied to other organisations like corporations.
- It generally includes the filling out of seemingly unnecessary paperwork, obtaining of unnecessary licenses, having multiple people or committees approve a decision and various low-level rules that make conducting one’s affairs slower and/or more difficult.
- In addition to time and money spent filling out forms, red tape reduces productivity and innovation in businesses.
- Small businesses are particularly burdened by this and may discourage people from starting up a new business.
- Because of red tape, contracts are not enforced consistently, and administration is delayed, resulting in delayed justice, especially for the poor.
- The burden of red tape requirements prevents many to enjoy their rights due to delayed governance and delayed distribution of welfare measures.
- The delays caused by government processing and the costs associated with them remain a source of dissatisfaction among citizens.
- Red Tapism leads to a sense of loss of trust in the government’s process most of the time, leaving citizens with unresolved problems.
- Each new government scheme is met with red tape that eventually kills the larger objective for which it was launched.
- Lack of proper monitoring, delayed release of funds, etc., are common associated issues connected to Red Tapism.
- According to a World Bank study, corruption increases with increasing red tape.
- By complicating the normal flow of businesses, bureaucracy breeds corruption and lowers growth.
