In a startling revelation, the Jammu & Kashmir government disclosed that 91 official websites remain non-operational, disrupting public access to essential services across the Union Territory.
According to reports, the Jammu & Kashmir e-Governance Agency (JaKeGA), in response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by activist Syed Adil from Ganderbal, confirmed that the websites are down due to the absence of ‘safe to host’ certificates.
The agency stated that the sites were taken offline because the concerned departments had not conducted mandatory security audits. These audits are now being carried out by CERT-In empanelled agencies. “Websites already hosted by the Jammu & Kashmir State Data Centre and lacking a ‘safe to host’ certificate are being audited by the third-party auditor M/S Grant Thornton, appointed by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir,” read the response from JaKeGA’s administrative officer, who also serves as its Public Information Officer under the RTI Act.
When asked whether any temporary or alternative arrangements had been made to ensure service continuity, JaKeGA deferred the question, stating that the information could be provided by the concerned departments.
These websites have been inaccessible since the first week of May.
Speaking to the media, Syed Adil criticized the government’s inaction. “It has been officially revealed that 91 websites are down, but the actual number could be around 150,” he said. “There has been little follow-up from the government to restore these websites, which reflects a lack of seriousness.”
Efforts to contact Minister for Information Technology Satish Sharma for comments were unsuccessful. (Agencies)
