KMC Administrator, Lanusenla Longkumer addressing the Open Data Day in Kohima on January 21. (Morung Photo)
Our Correspondent
Kohima | January 21
The need to have accurate data for holistic city development strategy was stressed upon at the Open Data Day organized by the Kohima Smart City Development Limited (KSCDL) here today.
Open Data Day is part of Open Data Week under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, across 100 smart cities in the country from January 17 to 21 as part of the year-long celebration of ‘Azad Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence to promote the use of open data for urban governance and delivery system.
KSCDL Chief Executive Officer, Er K Theunuo said that this event is also part of a pre-event initiative for Smart Urbanization conference to be held next month in Surat.
He hoped that the open data initiative will not only help the ambit of Kohima Smart City but also help the government and citizens in innovation, transparency, efficiency and economic growth. “This open data will help us in making the policy strategy and also help the government as well as citizens to formulate new visions and plans,” he added.
Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) Administrator, T Lanusenla Longkumer stressed on the need to provide accurate data as it is used in the policy making and planning of the government which in turn impacts the development of the state.
Data provides clear picture of the prevailing situation, she said and called for providing solid and authentic data for a better future.
She also appealed that if a person resides in Kohima city they should avail benefits from the city itself and not from their native village, which in turn will help in presenting an accurate data in planning for the city.
She maintained that through honest way of providing data, planning can be more robust and, thereby impacting the better growth of Kohima city.
Transparency and accountability
Kezhochole Rhetso, City Data Officer & General Manager (Planning) KSCDL maintained that open data initiative can impact economic opportunity and development of the city. She continued that that accurate data is one of the valuable assets for city development.
Open data enhances transparency and accountability, she said adding that it improves service delivery and empowers citizens. Also stating that open data is important for building of the city, she said “when we have open data we can build a smart city.”
She said the Government of India has established a data driven platform for urban areas, by way of rooting it to the Open Data Initiatives, through facilitating government organizations to publish their datasets in open format for free public use.
It may be noted that the Kohima City Data Policy was established in 2019. The data is received from government departments and other data sources and made available in open format at smartcities.data.gov for free access.
Through the open data initiatives, cities are being impacted in ways like, economic opportunities by enabling business creation, job creation, new forms of innovation with facts and figures. “It also impacts in solving the complex public problems through improved situational awareness and preparedness, increase knowledge and expertise, allow policy makers, civil society, and citizens to target interventions better and track the impact,” she said.
As we celebrate the 75 Years of the Nation’s Independence by way of observing Open Data Week, KSCDL together with other 100 Smart Cities of India, advocates the availability, accessibility and importance of urban data for future city planning and participatory involvement in the creation of Smart Cities, Rhetso added.
Wrong statistics leads to wrong policy
Charles N Kikon, Additional Director, Economics & Statistics, Nagaland said that statistics has become a pillar of good governance. “Wrong statistics will give wrong policy,” he said adding that the programmes and plans will be hampered when data goes wrong.
Talking on the of importance accurate and quality data, Mhathung Rangthang, Assistant Director, Directorate of Census Operation, Nagaland said, “If we provide correct data we are contributing towards nation building.”
He called upon the people to be responsible and true to themselves and cooperate with the government when they come for collecting data.
Thsope Medo, GIS Expert, Nagaland Science & Technology Council, Department of Science & Technology, Nagaland highlighted the department’s role in providing data through Geographic Information System, and how the data provided through GIS has helped in checking whether actual work is implemented in the state.
