KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated K-SMART, the facility designed to let the public avail various services officer by local bodies online, without visiting government offices, in Kochi on Monday.
The platform will let an individual avail services like getting birth, death, and marriage certificates to property tax and building permits via a mobile app and web portal.
K-SMART (Kerala Solution for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation) has been developed by the Information Kerala Mission (IKM) for the local self-government department (LSGD).
The app will allow the public to submit applications/complaints and get status updates digitally. The app has an integrated messaging system, and updates will be sent via WhatsApp and email. The facility will replace the existing software with a single web portal and an app and allow the public to access services from local bodies across the state without visiting the office.
“Those living abroad always faced this issue of travelling to their hometown to get any certificate. Using K-SMART, expatriates can access services from local bodies remotely and complete formalities like registration of marriages from abroad by logging in using their login IDs and completing a video KYC. Digital intervention will also help in reducing corruption,” said Vijayan.
Saying that digitisation of local body services is a step towards achieving digital literacy, Pinarayi added, “Services being made available through K-SMART is a model for the country. Other states have evinced interest in the project. The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the IKM and the Karnataka Municipal Data Society is a step towards this.”
Terming K-SMART the government’s New Year’s gift to the people, he said it would be the first facility of its kind in the country that makes services provided by local bodies available at people’s fingertips. “At a time when technology is growing rapidly, the government is adopting the service to benefit society. Our education sector is an example. Around 45,000 classrooms have become hi-tech, setting a model in online education that received worldwide attention,” he said.
He said Kerala was the first state to declare internet as citizens’ right and launched the KFON project, to provide internet to people at a low cost.
“Around 900 services have been made online, and a special app called M-Sevanam has been released, proving that we have been able to use technological advancements to benefit people. Similarly, K-Fi has been implemented to provide free Wi-Fi in public places. The state has over 2,000 hotspots at present. All these infrastructure development projects related to providing internet connectivity will also help to make systems like K-SMART accessible to people,” he said.
Services such as birth and death certificates, construction permits provided by local bodies, mass petition submission, complaint registration, and the like will now be available on the K-SMART application.
Talking about the app’s data safety and security, LSGD Minister M B Rajesh said the details provided by individuals to the local bodies will be safeguarded with utmost priority.
“The platform ensures a foolproof system to protect user privacy. Local bodies alone will have permission to use the details. These details can only be used for generating reports and cannot be transferred to third parties,” Rajesh said.