THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Citizens of the state won’t have to pay fee to get various certificates issued by the government departments anymore. All application forms for certificates will be simplified and ID proof such as Aadhaar card, SSLC book and ration card have been made equivalent to various existing certificates.
A meeting of the state cabinet on Thursday approved the proposal that will not only simplify the process to avail vital certificates for purposes such as education and employment, but also reduce the workload of village and taluk offices. At present, applicants have to affix revenue stamps of the assigned value on various applications. However, fee will be levied for services related to business and commercial purposes.
Certificate once issued can be used for multiple purposes
A certificate once issued can be used for multiple purposes within the stipulated period which wouldn’t be less than one year. All supporting documents submitted along with the application need to be only selfattested, instead of getting attested by gazetted officers. However, certificates for proving to be in the Economically Weaker Section and SC/ST will have to be attested by gazetted officers.
One-and-same certificate issued for addressing mismatch of names in various documents can now be issued by gazetted officers. So far, only notaries were empowered to issue it. Aadhaar card, building tax receipt and latest bill of KSEB/ KWA/BSNL will be accepted as residence proof. Local bodies will issue residence certificate to only those who don’t have any of these.
Those who were born in Kerala can use birth certificate in lieu of nativity certificates. For those Keralites who were born outside Kerala, nativity certificate can be obtained online from village offices concerned. If the religion of a person is recorded in his SSLC certificate, that can be used instead of minority certificate. Similarly, if the caste is recorded in the SSLC certificate, that can be used in lieu of caste certificate.
Jeevan Praman biometric system introduced by the Union government in lieu of life certificate will be accepted by state government treasuries and banks which disburse pension. If the relationship between members of a house is recorded in ration card, passport, Aadhaar card, birth certificate or school certificate, those can be used instead of relationship certificate.