After several delays, finally the e-Governance project of the Kochi  
Corporation is going to get launched this August. Actually mooted in
2007,  the e-Governance programme was supposed to be implemented two
years back.   But, various hurdles, including the restructuring of the
office arrangements, had delayed the project.

However, with the
work of the pilot phase completed, the Corporation   authorities are
planning to launch the first phase of the e-Governance programme by this
August.

According to an official concerned, some key services
offered by the    Corporation will be available online after the launch
of the first phase.  “The key services including issuance of birth
certificate, death certificate, marriage certificate and trade licence
will be available online after the launch of the pilot phase. The
availability of Ernakulam Town Hall for various programmes, booking of
the hall and the list of programmes scheduled will also be available
online,” said the official.

The Rs 8 crore e-governance programme
is being implemented under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal
Mission (JNNURM) with an aim to make all the major services offered by
the Corporation available online.

Property tax collection and
assessment, professional tax collection, assessment and issuance of
occupancy certificate, details of the council meetings and major
decisions taken by the council and agenda and minutes of standing
committee meetings will also be available online, adding to the
transparency of the civic administration.

The official said that
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is implementing the e-governance
programme, had completed the procedures, including the software
development for major modules. “Another major module in the pilot phase
is the store management. The existing website of the Corporation,
www.corporationofcochin.net, will be relaunched as an interactive web
portal by August. The other modules for the non-pilot phase will also be
completed soon after the launch of the pilot phase. The complete
e-Governance programme will be launched by December,” he added.

The
work of modules for the non-pilot phase including health and sanitation
services, engineering, budget and asset valuation will be completed  by
September,” he added.

The new systems purchased in connection
with the launch of e-Governance will be installed soon. “The data entry
to record all the major decisions took by the present and previous
council meetings is progressing. The data post 2003 will be entered
manually by composing while scanned copy of the older records will be
made available,” he added.