Chennai: Five years ago under the ambitious e-governance schemes, the state announced free online download of government documents like patta, birth /death records, property tax records and registration certificates. But except for birth and death certificates, the revenue and local administration departments are yet to complete the digitisation project, forcing people to run from pillar to post for government issued certificates.
The Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency and state policy to promote online services came into existence as early as 2007, but the project has only crossed the half way mark due to lack of official data and digitisation, an informed official said, adding that several urban local bodies in the state lack complete data on their properties and tax details, delaying the process. Similarly, the worst is the case with the revenue department related to land records. “We have been demanding online transparency of records and certificates for a very long time. While central government services like passport and pan services have improved due to online availability, similarly, payment of electricity and property tax has become simple, but there are still issues with the state revenue and registration departments,” opined RTI activist Gopala Krishnan. Activists fighting land grabbing and lake encroachments have been demanding online upgradation of satellite maps related to government and private lands. If this is done as per our e-governance policy, real estate crimes and corrupti-on can be reduced to a great extent and government lands protected, he added.
Meanwhile the e-seva centres inaugurated by chief minister J. Jayalaithaa last July has been an instant hit in the city limits. A visit by this newspaper to three e- seva centres in north and central Chennai revealed a positive response from beneficiaries. “This morning I came to the e- seva centre at Aynavaram to avail my son’s birth certificate. The staff instructed me to get some details for e-verification. Upon verification I got my son birth certificate from corporation records within minutes. The system is also friendly,” said auto driver Kamala Kannan, who resides in Ayanavaram.
When contacted with regard to the delay in e - governance initiatives, a senior government official said that no time frame has been fixed for the policy. Tamil Nadu is a leader in e -governance and this is a huge process as documentation and digitisation has to be completed for the previous years with fresh updates on a daily basis, making it complex and time consuming, he added.
