E-district services all set for July 1 launch

Revenue Minister Khaunte sets deadline for implementation of Time Bound Services Actrrthe goan I networkrMARGAO rrWhile setting targets for the district collectors to get pending mutation and partition cases cleared in a time-bound manner within four months, he also disclosed plans to shut down the controversial mahiti ghars, while assuring that citizens who have already paid fees to these centres will get their documents. rAfter a review meeting with the South Goa district revenue officials, including district collector Swapnil Naik, deputy collectors and mamlatdars, the Revenue Minister said he has fixed categorical responsibility on the district collectors for the delivery of e-district services in a time-bound manner. “I have told the district collector, South to impart additional training to the staff to ensure that online services are implemented and to ensure that Goa achieves a particular status amongst the states on the revenue front. r“We have fixed the responsibility on the district collectors to ensure smooth implementation in the services,” he said, while adding that efforts are on to sort out teething problems that surfaced during the last one month. rReplying to a query, the Revenue Minister said that Citizens Service Centres in North and South collectorates will facilitate prompt services to citizens at normal rates. r“The government will fix rates for these facilitation centres and the charges will be similar to the prevailing rates,” he said, adding that CSCs will provide services under one roof. rTo another question, the Revenue Minister said that the disposal of partition, mutation and mundcarial cases will be fast-tracked. “Targets have been set up for the deputy collectors and mamlatdars to dispose all cases pending for three years and more within a set time-frame,” he said. rWhile expressing satisfaction that the e-services project has started paying dividends, while underlining the need for spreading awareness among the citizens, Khaunte said that around 210 online applications were received for residence certificates and matriz, which have all been cleared, barring 32 applications. r“The mutation cases have been reduced in South Goa as a whole. From 3,000 pending applications when we took over, the figure has now come down to 1,900. Partition cases have also dropped though the officials were busy with the panchayat elections,” he said. rOn the implementation of the Time bound Services Act, Khaunte said that responsibility has been fixed on the officials from July 1 why the services could not be provided on time. rrr‘Instant’ land records in the offingrMARGAO: The Information Technology department is working on a plan to provide survey and others plans at a click of a mouse in the near future. rSaying that technology has come to stay and one cannot bypass technology, IT Minister Rohan Khaunte on Thursday said the days when citizens will be able to lay their hands on the survey and cadastral plans are not too far. r“Very soon, a lot of improvements are expected to take place in the Directorate of Survey and Land Records, which will beneficial to the end person. Today, we in a phase of cadastral and survey plans, but with the help of technology, the Land Survey Directorate will be in a position to provide these plans in a day,” he said. rSaying that the Land Survey Department is like a land bank, the IT Minister said that any building constructed by any department should reflect in the land records. “This is not happening today. It is surprising that when the TCP accords approval for any plan, it does not get reflected in the survey records. Plans are afoot to update the records,” he said, while saying that the land survey department will see a lot of changes in the days ahead.