Noting that geomatics is vital part of governance, Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Information Technology Aga Syed Ruhullah said the use of technology can help in making the Panchayati Raj system more effective.

"Use of geomatics for good governance is only possible when the back end data is easily available. Geomatics is vital part of governance and if the technology is made accessible, the Panchayat Raj can be made more effective," Ruhullah said during a conference on 'Geomatics for G-Governance' yesterday.

The regional conference was organised by University of Kashmir in collaboration with the Indian Society of Geomatics here.

Geomatics is the discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering geographic information, or spatially referenced information.

The minister said that geo-information technology and communication technology can play a significant role in development and planning.

He also stressed need for building the technical ingenuity of state to harness the benefits of geo-information technology for overall development through good governance.

"There is also a need for coordinated and pragmatic approach for the collection, maintenance, updating and accessibility of the datasets at the state level to make use of geomatics possible," Ruhullah said.