JOIN USCaste, income certificates now over the counter
Having extended the validity of caste and income certificates, the Revenue department is now taking the service delivery system a step further by introducing the “over the counter” concept, which has been piloted in Mangalore and Shimoga districts.
Addressing the media in Bangalore on Friday, Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa who announced the launch of the ‘Atalji Janasnehi Kendras’ said that issuance of caste and income certificates would not be a cumbersome process anymore.
He said that the ‘Incremental over the counter’ concept which entails the issue of certificates to the family members without verification of documents would be launched alongside the launch of the new centers on December 25.
The ‘Bulk over the counter’ system, which had already obtained the cabinet nod, too would be launched in the next months, where the village accountant will go door-to-door, verify the caste and income certificates and help extend the validity of the certificate if the applicant has failed to do so.
The government has recently notified that the income certificate can be renewed once every five years instead of once every year, while the caste certificate will now be issued for lifetime.
Eshwarappa said that the Nemmadi scheme introduced under the public private partnership (PPP) mode had been a failure and that the revenue department had taken complete control of the process by putting in place the required infrastructure and staff.
The Nemmadi centers which will henceforth be called Atalji Janasnehi Kendras will be headed by the deputy tahsildar who is empowered to issue the certificates for the 36 services.
This is said to reduce the time taken for delivery of services and improve the disposal rates. He will also be assisted by a village accountant and a data entry operator.
He said that the software had been refined, while the power problem had been addressed by installing solar powered UPS with battery backups. The infrastructure has been created at a cost of Rs 62 crore.
A total of 900 centers have been established – 601 centers at the hobli level (Nada Kacheris); 176 at taluk level; and 123 additional centers at bigger urban centers. The department has de-centralised the administration under the scheme.
Good governance month
To improve the services delivered under Nemmadi, Bhoomi and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department, the Revenue department will observe Good Governance Month from December 25 to January 31, 2013.