Birth certificates to go online COIMBATORE: Want a community or birth certificate? You may not have to trudge to the offices of village administrative officer, tahsildar or the municipalities anymore. For the first time in rural Tamil Nadu, community, birth, death, nativity and solvency certificates will be available online in Tamil and English soon. "In the first phase, the online issue of certificates will be implemented in the five e-districts in the state," said Dr Santhosh Babu, chairman of ElCOT (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu), which is spearheading the programme. "The Rs 12.56-crore scheme funded by the Central government will be launched next month," the Elcot chief told news agencies here.

The five e-districts where the online certificates would be issued are Coimbatore, Krishnagiri, Tiruvarur, Ariyalur and Perambalur. These districts are being covered in the first phase as they have the digital database and e-connectivity required for implementing the scheme. Each VAO, revenue inspector and tahsildar will be given a user ID and digital signature. As of now, villagers have to go to the village administrative officer or tahsildar, often a cumbersome process. Over the last three years, at least 20 VAOs have been caught receiving bribes for issuing community certificates or birth certificates. The online issue of these vital certificates is expected to cut through the redtapism. Initially, the people can approach the common service centres established in the panchayats for applying for online certificates. Within a month or two, the public can log on to tn.gov.in and get the certificates directly. Not just community certificates, even nativity certificates and chittas (list of patta properties owned by an individual) can be obtained online. Meanwhile, the government is redesigning the state portal for seamlessly wading through the various department links.