The World Bank would fund the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to introduce hand-held billing machines in fair price shops and e-governance at commercial tax departments across the state.
The bank is expected to provide around Rs 240 crore for these two projects, said C Chandramouli, state IT secretary.
A team from World Bank recently met government officials in this regard.
The government, through Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot), is planning to introduce customised hand-held billing machines at fair price shops in order to control price violations and black market consumption.
There are around 30,000 such shops in the state. These machines will be connected to a central server at Perungudi, near Chennai, to monitor supplies and offtake.
Santhosh Babu, managing director, Elcot, said the government was also planning to set up 5,400 common service centres (CSEs) in villages across the state by the end of this year as part of the e-governance programme. By this October, 2,400 CSEs would be installed.
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Elcot has roped in Wipro Technologies as the consultant for the project, which would involve an investment of around Rs 12 crore and will be funded by the Centre. The corporation is also planning to recruit over 10,000 people and provide them with laptops.
The CSEs will provide information to the people in the villages and collect utility bills, issue birth and death certificates, passport applications, and land records. It will also provide access to services offered by both state and central governments.
Meanwhile, the government is planning to extend e-district projects, launched in Tiruvarur district in June 1999 on a pilot basis, to five more districts including Krishnagiri, Perambulur, Coimbatore and Ariyalur.