The State government has made it mandatory for the Registration Department to issue encumbrance certificates to business enterprises in three days as part of its push for the ease of doing business.
Likewise, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) or any other urban local body has to provide an assessment number to any new property of a business enterprise in 30 days. In the case of issuing documents for the transfer of the name of the property owner, the period is 15 days.
The School Education Department has to provide certificates of recognition to schools under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules in 90 days. For the transfer of vehicle registration, the waiting period is three days.
These measures and more form part of two orders issued by the Industries Department a week ago.
The service standards are not just meant for business enterprises but also for the public, said officials of the Registration Department, the Greater Chennai Corporation and the Municipal Administration Directorate, adding that their departments had begun work in this regard.
For example, the GCC, in a recent circular to its officers, specifically mentioned that “while issuing approvals for all types of applications [building permits, planning permissions or demolitions] altogether, the time period of 30 days shall not be violated without any valid reason”.
In the case of the remaining municipal corporations and municipalities, an “urban tree information system” has been launched, covering 29 services online, for the benefit of citizens across all urban local bodies, with the objective of ensuring “a citizen-friendly, participatory, transparent and accountable government”.
As for the Registration Department, the portal, https://tnreginet.gov.in/portal/ , can be accessed for downloading encumbrance certificates for free. If anyone requires a certified copy, he can get it in three days by e-mail ordinarily, said an official, adding that his Department was making efforts to see to it that holidays and high-transaction days do not come in the way of providing service within the prescribed time.
The Industries Department, in the two orders, eliminated the permissible time limit for the provision of certain services by several Departments to business enterprises and prescribed many more new services.
For instance, the renewal of factories licence from the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health will now be issued automatically and instantly, online, upon payment of the requisite fee, instead of the earlier arrangement of a waiting period of seven days. Likewise, a similar arrangement has been made in the case of licence renewal for manufacturers from the Labour Department.
A senior official of the Industries Department said the orders had brought in six more Departments under the ambit of the Business Facilitation Act — Geology and Mining, Water Resources, Public Works, Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, the Commissionerate of Transport and School Education. Till now, 24 Departments have been covered.
Pointing out that the inclusion of the services makes the timely online processing of services legally binding, The official said that if the prescribed time limits were exceeded for any application, a committee headed by the Managing Director of the Guidance Bureau and further, a State-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary were in place to clear them.
Published - August 21, 2021 01:22 am IST
