Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 9: Following instructions from the Minister for Information Technology, Satish Sharma, the IT Department has executed surprise inspections of various Common Service Centres (CSCs) across Jammu and Kashmir. The Minister emphasized that authorities must take strict action against CSCs that overcharge customers.
The J&K administration is implementing a robust monitoring and regulatory system to ensure compliance with the established service rates. Regular audits and inspections are being conducted by specialized Divisional Level Inspection teams from the IT Department to pinpoint and penalize those found guilty of overcharging.
Principal Secretary for Information Technology, Santosh Vaidya, has directed Deputy Commissioners—who also serve as Chairpersons of District e-Governance Societies (DeGs)—to enforce the mandated rates within their jurisdictions to protect the public interest.
A series of surprise inspections have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir to verify the adherence of CSCs to government-set rates. Under the oversight of Aijaz Qaiser, Additional Secretary of the IT Department, inspection teams were dispatched to the Rajouri and Poonch districts in the Jammu division, as well as Baramulla and Kupwara in the Kashmir division.
During these inspections, 15 CSCs in Rajouri and 16 in Poonch were checked in the Jammu division, while 55 CSCs in Baramulla and 50 in Kupwara were evaluated in the Kashmir division.
To support the Digital India initiative and enhance public access to seamless online services, new CSC points are being established in various government offices, such as Deputy Commissioner offices, Block Development offices, Tehsil offices, Social Welfare offices, ARTO offices, and educational institutions including colleges and universities.
Deputy Commissioners have been instructed to allocate spaces in these offices for new service points, with Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs) assigned as nodal officers to facilitate and expedite their establishment.
As of now, 664 new CSC service points have been set up, and there are currently 17,878 active CSCs providing services via the Digi-Seva Portal in J&K.
The IT Department has established service rates for various online offerings, which are set at Rs. 50 for government-to-citizen services and Rs. 75 for government-to-business services. In response to overcharging complaints, 661 CSC licenses have been revoked over the past year (627 during the 2023-24 financial year and 53 in the current 2024-25 financial year).
The Vice President of CSC-SPV J&K has been tasked with ensuring that the sanctioned rates are clearly displayed at each CSC, while also working to develop a certified system to ensure that Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) are available to assist the public in accessing online services seamlessly.
