Good governance: Tamil Nadu launches MyGov portal 

CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday launched the MyGov web portal — a platform for citizen engagement for good governance, on the lines of the MgGov portal of the Central government.  

The portal provides opportunities for citizens and experts to convey their views on all key issues and also facilitates government institutions to collaborate with citizens. Just after the launch, the MyGov Tamil Nadu portal of the government started a discussion on ways to check the spread of the virus and people started giving their views online about how to involve the community in the fight against the virus. 

MyGov is primarily created for government departments and institutions to pursue their citizen engagement initiatives. Institutions can form or create interest groups based on various causes and initiatives taken in each sector of the government. Within each group, discussions on relevant and significant topics can be initiated. The discussions can help government institutions understand the viewpoints of citizens and gather feedback on policy issues.

Citizen engagement
Citizens can be involved online and on ground tasks through the platform such as writing research documents, concept notes, field reports, taking photographs/videos, compiling policy measures, etc. Tasks would not only lead to crowdsourcing of ideas but also help institutions understand region-specific, sector-specific as well as individual success stories, best practices, and/or issues.

Another facet of the platform is the Creative Corner and Open Forum, which gives institutions and bodies the opportunity to organise contests for creative inputs on upcoming initiatives or open up discussions on specific themes/issues of national importance.

This portal helps the government understand the viewpoints of citizens and gather feedback, identifying talent and expertise which can be garnered towards the success of projects with people’s participation, implementing best ideas, and achieving the goal of ‘Good Governance’.

CM orders water release
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday ordered release of water from three dams in Tirunelveli district — Papanasam, Servalaru, and Manimuthar — from November 1.  The water will be released for 151 days till March 31 and this would benefit 86,107 acres of land in the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts. He  also ordered the release of water from the Manimuthar dam from November 1 to March 31 for 151 days for 2,756.62 acres of farm lands in Ambasamudram taluk in Tirunelveli district.