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ICAR network runs into fresh trouble

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DQW Bureau
New Update

Looks like the Ministry of Agriculture has more to worry about these days rather than just the WTO deadline. A World-Bank funded project running into crores of rupees, a national network connecting the agricultural research scientist community across the country and personality clashes: perfect ingredients for a project to spell disaster.

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The Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS) connecting different centers of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has been mired in controversy since inception. The mandate was to connect 832 centers through dial-up, leased or VSAT-based network. While some centers were envisaged to have higher connectivity including video-conferencing facilities, others were expected to have at least the e-mail facility.

Several projects under ARIS have been initiated: the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) in 1996 and the National Agricultural Technical Project (NATP) in 1998-99. But since the first project in 1996, there has been cross-accusations of mishandling the projects. What comes across clearly is that due to the involvement of many individuals, the project has been delayed and nobody holds ownership.

For instance, the first project was completely mishandled with payments being made without the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) being in place. As a result, although boxes were shipped to the locations by the vendor (who happened to be HCL InfoSystems), they were not even installed let alone connected as a network. Two of the senior-most officials involved in the later implementation are at loggerheads to take the credit.

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While Dr Sadachari Singh Tomar says that it was after he took charge as Assistant Director General, ARIS that the installations were undertaken, Dr A Alam who is the Deputy Director General of Agricultural Engineering Division says that it was at his behest that installations began.

This is a relatively minor issue compared to the full-blown showdown that was to follow later. The later tender worth Rs 34 crore that was floated as part of the National Agricultural Technical Project (NATP) to develop the Information System Development precipitated matters to such an extent that it became a personality clash between two individuals--Dr Tomar and Dr Alam. Dr Tomar, the executive officer in charge of the project has now been suspended and asked to return to the Madhya Pradesh government from where he was on deputation to

ICAR.

Dr Tomar had raised objection to issues like the nature of the tender, which specified the requirement to be Microsoft-based operating system. His objection was on the grounds that Novell NetWare was an existing platform and any further expansion or scaling should be on the Novell platform. Explained Dr Tomar, "According to the blueprint of ARIS developed by National Center for Software Technology (NCST) in 1995-96, Novell NetWare was the platform that was suggested due to its rugged nature. This decision was reinforced by the Information System Development Committee in 1998 when the issue of replacing Novell with Microsoft had cropped up."

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However, averred Dr Alam, "There was no question of Novell as the network platform. We were only looking at expanding the existing network which was always on the Microsoft platform." Inquiries at the National Informatics Center (NIC) which also monitors the ARIS network revealed that indeed all the platforms in the network are on Microsoft.

But there could be a catch here. Said a senior official of Onward Novell India, "Microsoft has been selling its platform at individual locations at concessional rates which they offer for educational institutes. In the process, it has been gradually replacing the Novell platform within the organization. The irony is that while Microsoft may not be compatible with other operating systems, Novell is both compatible and scalable. That is why it has been possible to wipe out Novell from the network."

Speaking about the status of the project now, Dr Alam said, "The sad part is that due to all this confusion (referring to the showdown with Dr Tomar) not only has the tender been withdrawn but the World Bank has also slashed its funding to almost half of the original commitment. From the original funding of Rs 96 crore for the development of ISD, the funding has been reduced to Rs 55 crore. And we do not know when the project will take off next." The case is under CBI investigation now. However, Dr Tomar stands vindicated to an extent that the tender has to be reworked to be vendor-neutral.

What comes across strongly is that there are too many checks and balances in the system with the result if there are conflicting personalities, the process of modernization can be derailed. True, there is ample scope of misappropriation and mishandling of decisions when left to individuals but there is the factor of ownership and accountability. Sometimes this also results in efficiency!

(CNS)

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