Online system for weapon licence renewal soon: DC Darshan

Mangaluru: Even as farmers in Dakshina Kannada flagged inordinate delays in the renewal of weapons licences, the district administration has decided to launch an online mechanism to clear all applications routed through the revenue, police and forest departments within three months.At a farmers' grievance meeting chaired by DC Darshan HV Thursday, growers said procedural delays made renewals difficult. "Farmers are made to wait for several months to get their weapon licences renewed. Meanwhile, licences of deceased farmers are not being renewed in their legal heirs' names," they noted, seeking a solution.Darshan acknowledged delays in the renewal process and said the matter had already been discussed with the police of Dakshina Kannada and Mangaluru City."We have a target to ensure that all applications are cleared within three months. Applications for new licences, transfers from a father's name to a son's name, or, in case of sale, should not remain pending for more than three months. It has been brought to our notice that it takes three to four months to get clearances from forest and revenue departments. Hence, we decided to launch an online system for the process," he said.Officials from police, forest and district administration will have access to the portal. Under the new system, applications will be accepted or rejected within 45 days, and the licence will be renewed or issued within three months. The DC added that all applications pending for more than a year for various reasons will also be cleared soon.Farmers also sought details on proposals to set up Monkey and Peacock Parks in Sullia and Gundya. Forest officials said approval from the finance department was awaited.Dakshina Kannada SP Arun K, DCP (law and order) Mithun HN, and ADC K Raju were present.