The Tribal Youth Council Manipur (TYCM) has urged the Government of Manipur to make the online procedure for issuing various certificates easier due to delay and procedural complications, which is causing great difficulty to the applicants especially those hailing from the hills.
According to a statement issued through the Media and Information Cell of the organization, TYCM has been receiving a lot of complaints from some people about delay in issuing Income, Scheduled Tribe (ST), Permanent Residential, Domicile, Employment Exchange Registration, Birth and Death Certificates.
The organization said that in order to minimize the process of applying for these certificates physically, Government has developed a new portal named e-Seva Portal where one can apply online for Income, Domicile/Residence and ST Certificates.
However, according to the TYCM, one still needs to go to Government offices for getting verification signatures of Lambus or staff of the respective Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) office on the Village Authority recommendation certificate and for getting Unemployment Certificates. The application for Income Certificate requires verification by Gazetted Officer.
Questioning the purpose of an online service if applicants are still required to make physical visits, the council said the existing procedures undermine the objective of digital service delivery.
The TYCM also questioned the requirement for further verification of Village Authority recommendations by SDO staff. It said that if such recommendations are not accepted without additional verification, the role of the Village Authority recommendation itself becomes redundant and creates an unnecessary burden on applicants.
According to the council, delays in approving or rejecting applications are preventing people from completing personal, educational, employment-related and official requirements within stipulated deadlines, potentially resulting in the loss of important opportunities.
The TYCM urged the concerned authorities to simplify and streamline the online application system, remove unnecessary procedures and ensure that applications are either approved or rejected within two or three days.
It also called for helpline numbers of the respective certificate-issuing offices to be made available so that applicants can make enquiries and obtain necessary information without having to make repeated physical visits to government offices.
