Goa Assembly Goes Virtually Paperless

The proceedings in the Goa assembly, which begins its monsoon session on July 22, will be virtually paperless, Speaker Rajendra Arlekar said.

The session, which is expected to see over 2,500 questions, will be 95 percent paperless, according to the speaker.

Both ruling and opposition benches are preparing to battle over issues related to the multi-billion dollar mining scam, use of police to settle political scores, the Lusofonia Games scam and other issues.

"We are proud to say that for the first time in its history, the Goa legislative assembly is going paperless. Almost 95 percent of the proceedings will be online... Give us some time, we will go 100 percent (paperless) soon," Speaker Rajendra Arelekar told IANS.

Instead of shuffling through kilos of paper sheaf, each of the 40 MLAs will instead use their customized e-tablets or laptops to read their questions or peruse through replies given to them by ministers.

Both legislators and the 50-odd journalists who cover the session, are each allotted bundles of paper, which includes starred questions, unstarred questions, bulky annexures, bills and the numerous reports and documents which are tabled in the assembly on any given day.