The West Bengal government has confirmed spending a whooping Rs. 103-crore (US$18.5 million) contract for end-to-end ICT services to streamline the e-governance applications of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the state.

The government there also plans to carry out biometric verification of workers in order to release payments faster. Workers will be paid on the same day or within two days.

A contract was signed between the state ‘Panchayat and Rural Development’ department and IT provider Tata Consultancy Services for the same. The deal is supposed to integrate the entire MGNREGS process including functions such as enrolment, biometric authentication, secure wage disbursement, and worksite attendance management.

A pilot project will be launched in the ‘South 24 Parganas’ district in West Bengal, and rolled out over the next year to the rest of the state. The government will receive support services for five years after implementation for the ICT solutions.

These ICT innovations are expected to significantly increase transparency and efficiency in a system that is being audited and investigated on allegations of corruption.