Thiruvananthapuram: Procuring your documents and certificates lost in the floods will soon be a message away.
The service introduced by the government authorities via instant messaging application WhatsApp offers quick relief to those who lost valuable government-issued documents and certificates in the recent deluge in Kerala. The service will be available through Akshaya e-kendras from December onwards, officials privy to the development said.
Application for reissuing documents can be submitted through a dedicated WhatsApp number. Based on the information provided by the complainant, it could be retrieved from the database server maintained by the department concerned. The certificate can be obtained from the local Akshaya e-centre by submitting the proof of identity. The facility will save people the trouble of going from one office to the other to reclaim their lost documents.
A meeting of officials representing various government departments to discuss the integration of the WhatsApp service with Akshaya e-kendras was held in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. “We decided to make it a permanent facility at e-kendras following the good response to the certificate recovery adalats for the flood-hit people,” said M Sivasankar, secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and secretary, electronics and IT department.
The software was developed by integrating the databases maintained by different government departments. The certificates and documents that could be reclaimed through this facility include property documents, SSLC certificate, ration card, vehicle registration certificate, driving licence, Comprehensive Health Insurance Agency of Kerala (CHIAK) health card etc. More departments will be integrated and brought under the application’s fold, officials said.
A digital copy of the reissued certificate will be uploaded on DigiLocker, the digital locker system launched by the central government. Recently, the government has issued an order to all departments to store documents issued by them in the secure cloud-based platform.
