CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has waived the Rs 60 fee for the online e-sevai procedure for issuing nativity certificates required by voters during the ongoing SIR exercise.

The certificates can now be issued manually for a limited period from December 26 to January 25.

During this period, zonal deputy tahsildars and taluk headquarters deputy tahsildars have been authorised to issue the certificates. The directions given by Revenue Secretary P Amutha to all district collectors arise from difficulties reported by the collectors of Tiruvallur and Thoothukudi in handling a large number of “no mapping” voter cases, where links with the 2002/2005 electoral rolls could not be established.

As per the Election Commission guidelines, these voters must undergo an inquiry by EROs/AEROs and submit one of the prescribed documents, including the nativity certificate. However, since the certificate is normally issued online through e-sevai for a Rs 60 fee, the process is time-consuming and could delay the SIR process.