Patna: Bihar is gearing up to adopt e-Vidhan application to conduct legislative work online.

Two high-level teams recently went to Shimla in Himachal Pradesh to study the implementation of the application developed by the National Informatics Centre. It would allow legislators to move from traditional methods to modern and paperless work based on information technology.

Legislative Council deputy chairman Harun Rashid, who led one of the teams to the hill state, said: "We had gone to Shimla to study e-Vidhan's implementation. We are also on way to adopt it. The Government of India has approved the plan and money for it."

He added that in a fast-changing world "the day is not far when Bihar legislature will also implement it". "It is going to happen soon," Rashid said.

On implementation, legislators would be able to conduct House business at the click of a mouse. "They could show videos and photos related to queries raised in the Houses. They could also present them as proof if wrong answers are given to questions raised."

The current system of providing written replies, reports, bills and copies of documents to MLAs will be done away with e-Vidhan, as Assembly and Council proceedings, committees, secretariat, question hour and zero hour would move online.

The application would have provisions of e-voting, information emission and facility for bureaucrats and administrative officials assisting ministers during question hour and zero hour to send e-notes. Answers to questions and issues pertaining to different departments can also be inserted. The move is expected to save several crores of rupees of the Assembly and Council per year as well as time.

Himachal Pradesh is the first state in the country to adopt the e-Vidhan system for its Assembly. To successfully implement it in Bihar, proper training to ministers, legislators and government officials would have to be ensured.

Rashid said: "Training of Council officials is on. Officials in all the government departments would also be trained."

The application can be used on smartphones, laptops and Tablets. Touch screens fixed to table tops that can be raised at the touch of a button could also be used to access e-Vidhan.

When pointed out that many legislators were not educated enough or even tech-savvy to use e-Vidhan, Rashid said the application was easy to use, "and these days even grandsons and granddaughters can train legislators and ministers".