Thiruvananthapuram: The Information Technology Department of Kerala has been charging fees for 24 types of certificates issued through the e-District portal for the past two years by flouting the orders issued by the government itself.
It charges Rs 7 for each of the thousands of certificates issued daily through Akshaya centres. In addition, Akshaya centres also charge a service fee.
The Programme Implementation, Evaluation and Monitoring Department issued an order on October 7, 2021, directing that fees should be charged only for certificates issued for the purpose of trade and commerce and that they should be waived in all other cases.
Although the Civil Supplies Department had stopped charging fees for various applications for services such as issuing ration cards, the IT Department, which is functioning under the chief minister, is continuing with its practice of charging fees.
The Vigilance had found a number of violations during its inspection of Akshaya centres across Kerala the other day, but this particular breach of orders went unnoticed.
Rates for Aadhaar services
Many Akshaya centres are charging fees over and above the permissible rates for services related to Aadhaar, states several complaints from the public.
When a person obtains his Aadhaar for the first time (enrollment), he does not have to pay any fee. The mandatory updation of biometric data between the ages of 5-7 and 15-17, and renewal of other details during this process, are also exempted from fee.
The fee payable is Rs 50 for updating details (correction of name, change of address etc), and for uploading identity cards and proof of address. The fee is Rs 100 if the biometric details are updated between the ages of 7 and 14 or after the age of 17.
