-- Samir Umarye *
September 3, 2013* BICHOLIM: The arduous task of visiting the mamlatdar’s office to seek documents could well be a thing of the past, with the Bicholim taluka set to introduce a new system to ensure that many certificates are made available in the panchayat offices. Claiming that Bicholim taluka could well be among the first talukas in the country to offer this novel facility, Bicholim Mamlatdar Gurudas Desai said it would immensely benefit residents of all 19 panchayats in Bicholim taluka. Addressing a press conference in the city, Desai stated that the village-level service delivery of certificates will officially be launched on September 6. According to information, taluka authorities along with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) have developed the software to ensure that residents need not visit the mamlatdar’s office, but can get the required documents from their respective panchayats. “Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza will commission the service on September 6 in the presence of all three MLAs of Bicholim taluka. With this service, residents can obtain residence certificate, caste certificate, divergence certificate, income certificate and also Form I & XIV from the village panchayat,” informed Desai. “Earlier, residents had to waste time, money and effort to visit the mamlatdar’s office to avail of the certificates. But this system will now address their difficulties,” said Desai. Explaining the system, Desai said the resident in need of a certificate will be expected to submit the relevant documents to the talathi in the panchayat. The talathi will then verify the documents and will upload it on a system, which will also be accessed in the mamlatdar’s office. The applicant will then get an SMS when the talathi uploads the application. Staff at the mamlatdar’s office will then process the relevant file and will upload the required certificate. The applicant will receive a second SMS when the certificate is available at the panchayat. The scanned copy of the signed certificate will then be printed in the panchayat and the talathi will then authenticate the printed certificate, before handing it over to the applicant. “The talathi will be given three days to verify the documents and the entire process will take a maximum of seven days. The applicant only needs to visit the panchayat to collect the required certificate,” Desai explained. Desai informed that all panchayats in Bicholim taluka have been equipped with a computer, scanner and printer to print out the certificates processed in the mamlatdar’s office. Asked if there were sufficient number of talathis in Bicholim taluka to handle this workload and whether they were trained in operating the system, Desai replied: With the exception of one panchayat, the other 18 panchayats in Bicholim taluka have a full-time talathi. These talathis are trained to operate the system and were given 15 training sessions by the Goa Electronics Ltd (GEL). “Setting up this system took more than a year and I was vigorously following it up to ensure that it works without any glitch. Since we are now satisfied that the system works without any problem, we have decided to formally commission it for the benefit of the public on September 6,” he said. Incidentally, authorities had tried to implement a similar system for Bardez taluka but had encountered some difficulties in setting up the system.
