Soon, rural residents can access certificates and pay taxes online

Kolkata: People in rural areas may not be required to visit Panchayat offices to obtain various certificates as they will soon be made available online so that the beneficiaries can get hassle-free services.

A mechanism will soon be developed, sources said.

However, those who will be applying for the certificates online must complete some procedures. The people will have to submit some of their information, including mobile number to avail OTP based service online. The people were required to physically visit the offices to apply for seven types of certificates. They often had to face difficulties while applying/obtaining certificates from the respective offices. The proposed online system will ensure a hassle-free service.

After the Mamata Banerjee government came to power, it has laid an emphasis on the ‘ease of doing business’ so that the people get hassle-free services in every department.

In the Panchayat areas, the people need to have a certificate from the Panchayat Pradhan in order to claim a caste certificate. Many of the students from the villages require a distance certificate from the Panchayat while moving to the city for college admissions.

Apart from these certificates, the people also require income certificates, residential certificates, character certificates for various purposes.

Meanwhile, in a parallel development, the state government has decided to operate the online tax-paying system in an effective manner as the Panchayat department has been facing difficulties in collecting property tax from the people under its areas for a long time. The State Panchayat department has already given specific information to all the panchayats in the state in this regard.

The Panchayats have also been asked to carry out an awareness campaign in all the villages. If everything goes as per plan, the full-fledged online payment system would be introduced in all panchayat areas soon.

The state government was also keen on introducing an effective online payment system in Panchayat areas like the way people in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) areas pay their taxes.