Private Internet cafes in Tamil Nadu will soon act as facilitation centres for obtaining voter ID cards.
In a first, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Tamil Nadu will soon enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu Internet Centre Owners Association (TNICOA), to allow private cyber cafes to operate as facilitators for uploading filled-in online application forms of voter ID seekers.
The cyber cafes would act as Voter Registration Centres, offering a slew of other services, including addition and deletion of names from the voters list.
“Such services are provided through e-seva kendras in some States. But, it is for the first time in the country that private Internet browsing centres are roped in for the purpose,” Praveen Kumar, Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu told Express. It would take some time to roll out the facility, as the draft in this regard should be sent to the Election Commission in New Delhi for approval, he added.
Any authorised cyber cafe can offer these services, sources with the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.This initiative will be a huge relief for voters, since they need not have to wait till camps are conducted for photographing voters for IDs. According to P Murugan, secretary, TNICOA, the cyber cafes will use either web cameras or digital cameras. “Otherwise, people can also bring their own photos. We will act as facilitators to fill in the necessary details in application forms and upload it to the election commission’s office,” he said.
Murugan also stated that a nominal fee, which would fixed by the Election Commission, would be charged for the services. “The MoU is likely to be signed in the coming weeks. The facility will first be introduced in Chennai,” he added.
About 700 Internet centres in Chennai are registered with the TNICOA.