K-SMART services rolled out across Kerala's panchayats

Thiruvananthapuram | After successfully completing one year of implementing the K-SMART mobile application -- which brings all public services of local self-government bodies online in corporations and municipalities -- the facility has now been extended to all three-tier panchayats.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday inaugurated the statewide rollout of K-SMART services. With this, all 941 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, and 14 district panchayats will now have access to the K-SMART platform.

The service was made available to all corporations and municipalities in Kerala one year ago.

"The effectiveness of the system in delivering public services online and reducing unnecessary delays has been clearly demonstrated over the past year. That is why it is now being extended across Kerala," Vijayan said after launching the programme statewide at a function held here.

He said the Kerala government had been making significant efforts to ensure that the public no longer face unpleasant experiences when visiting government offices to resolve genuine issues.

"There are some undesirable elements in certain offices who were unwilling to help resolve the public's genuine concerns in the past. This small section is only interested in doing things the wrong way for their own benefit," the chief minister said.

He said the government's efforts to put an end to such practices have yielded results, thanks to strong public support. Now, people no longer need to visit government offices to resolve their issues or obtain necessary documents.

Vijayan stated that this marks the second phase of K-SMART, as it is now being extended to all three-tier panchayats.

"Four lakh files were processed within six hours, and ten lakh files were completed within 24 hours through K-SMART," the chief minister said, highlighting the success of the platform during its first year of implementation in corporations and municipalities across the state.

According to the data, in the past year, more than 50 per cent of the 35 lakh files processed by the Corporations and Municipalities were completed within 24 hours through K-SMART.

The chief minister said that Kerala is the only state in the country to recognise internet access as a fundamental right of its citizens. He added that the government launched K-FON (Kerala Fibre Optic Network) to make the internet accessible to every common person in the state, and that free Wi-Fi access in public areas is now being expanded.

"Wider internet access can only help people make use of the most of technological innovations like K-SMART. The government is committed to ensuring access to technology for its people," the CM said.

Minister for Local Administration, Excise and Parliamentary Affairs, M B Rajesh, said that this technological advancement is set to revolutionise local governance and the lives of people in Kerala.

"K-SMART has eliminated restrictions related to working hours. Over four lakh files were cleared after office hours, and many more lakhs were processed on holidays," Rajesh said.

He added that people with a smartphone can now access services and find solutions to their problems through K-SMART, from anywhere in the world.

A building permit, which earlier took several months to be approved, is now issued within minutes.

"Currently, the average time taken to issue a building permit is nine seconds. Applications can only be submitted if they meet all legal requirements, and once submitted, the permit is issued in just nine seconds on average," Vijayan explained.

He also said that even marriage certificates, which earlier required the personal appearance of both husband and wife at the registrar's office, are now issued online. "Through video e-KYC verification, couples can receive the certificate instantly, even if they are in different continents," Rajesh said.

He added that the system has brought greater transparency and ease of operation to local self-government departments.

"Transparency and efficiency have improved tremendously, and corruption has been eradicated," he said.