Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The much-awaited e-office at the police headquarters here (PHQ), which was to start functioning this March 15, may take more than a month to be up and running, if sources are to be believed.  It must be noted that on January 1, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inaugurated the e-office system at the Mantralaya. 

Meanwhile, on March 3, the DGP even reviewed the progress at the PHQ, instructing the officials to start the system on March 15. They were also instructed to submit their final work report to the State Crime Record Bureau.

The upgrade move follows a general administration department letter dated November 7, 2024, to start the e-office system in their departments. The PHQ also geared up for the programme, sending out detailed instructions to its different departments to implement the system.

For instance, it asked the departments to upgrade the Windows-7 operating system to Windows-10. They also had to generate an email ID and digitise old files using a high-speed scanner. The administration branch keeps complete records of all police officers.

Details of departmental investigation of officers are also kept here. The cases related to the PHQ going on in the High Court and Supreme Court are also monitored here. The documents of medical bills of employees and officers are kept in the accounts department.

Considering the quantum of paperwork to be tackled, e-filing work is going on at a fast pace here. In the CID, meanwhile, most of the files have been digitised. Of all the criminal cases being investigated here, files of about 60% have been digitised. However, sources said that many of the personnel at the PHQ are still being trained in the programme, and it may take more than a month to complete the project.