JOIN US If you are found carrying a couple of documents or even a sheet of paper, you are bound to be approached by some people. They will ask you casually, “What certificate do you want, Sir?”
There, you are trapped.
For a government service available at Rs 15, touts charge you a minimum of Rs 350! They also tell you some basic truths. “You will get the certificate you want in two or three days. If you go by the normal procedure (as prescribed by the government), you will not get the work done even after 15 days. We will track your file and get the work done.”
When they say this, they mean it. Recently, this reporter visited the Bangalore South and Bangalore North offices on KG road to check how efficiently the Nemmadi centres are functioning. The reporter was approached by a tout who identified himself as Prakash.
The reporter asked for a caste certificate for himself. Immediately Prakash said he needed a copy of transfer certificate (TC), a copy of the ration card and Rs 350 in cash. “Get all these and you will get the caste certificate in two days,” he said.
At least a dozen such Prakashs were found active in these offices to ‘help’ the public. Those who are in dire need of a certificate at the earliest opt to go to a tout rather than going through the normal channel.
In the normal course, a filled-in application has to be submitted to a Nemmadi centre (also called telecenter). The application has to reach the office of the revenue inspector concerned. The inspector may take his own time to pass the file to his higher ups. Finally, tahasildar’s signature has to be put on the certificate. The computerised centres have been run by a private agency. Surprisingly, there is no fixed deadline for processing an application. This was the case earlier, when people used to submit applications in various sections.
The ‘service’ provided by touts is almost like a tatkal scheme. Vijay Kumar, an advocate at the taluk office, said he availed himself of a tout’s service as he was running against time to apply for the post of assistant public prosecutor. The advocate said Nemmadi centres would have served the purpose of reducing the delay in processing application and eliminating touts, provided the centres were run efficiently. Unfortunately, Nemmadi centres have become place for ‘agents’ to make quick money. Getting even a blank application at the Nemmadi centres is a Herculean task. The prescribed fee for one application is Rs 15. A rule-book minded person will have to spend not less than 30 to 45 minutes to get an application. To make matters worse, if you do not have exactly Rs 15, you may may not get your change. “No change right now. Come after an hour,” is the stock reply from the people who sit in the Nemmadi computer centres.
Services provided
*Residence certificate
*Income certificate
*No tenancy certificate
*Living certificate
*Agri Family member certificate
*Re-marriage certificate
*Landless certificate
*Surviving family member certificate
*Income certificate for compassionate appointment
*Unemployment certificate
*No government job certificate for Compassionate appointments
*Agriculturist certificate
*Small & Marginal Farmer certificate
*Agri Labour certificate
*Land holding certificate
*Bonafide certificate
*Solvency certificate
*OBC certificate for GOI Jobs
*Caste certificate for Category-A
*Caste certificate for other Categories
*Caste certificate for SC/ST
*Widow certificate
*Birth certificate (Registered in previous years)
*Death certificate (Registered in previous years)
*R T C
*Mutations
*Old Age Pension
*Widow Pension
*Physically handicapped pension
*Sandhya Suraksha Yojane
*National Family Benefit Scheme
*Karnataka Vocational Training. & Skill Devt Corporation
*Employability Training
*Sales Training - (Telesales / Marketing)
*Domestic - BPO
*Basic Computer Course
(Note: this is what the Govt claims in its website)