Chief Minister Raman Singh on Friday inaugurated the lok Seva Kendra (Public Service Centre) at the Raipur District Collectorate premises in the city. He also launched the services of four tehsils-Dharsiva, Tilda, Arang and Abhanpur simultaneously. It may be recalled that Singh announced the project in his address on January 26 at Jagdalpur this year that all districts will be linked to lok Seva Kendras.
Singh also launched the mobile app of the public services provided by the lok Seva Kendras. He said that the Kendras will help in transparency and providing fast services to the common man. It will save a lot of time of the citizens. The public services will be catered in a time-bound manner of 15 days under the lok Seva Guarantee Act. The senior officers will be updated on the reasons for delay in providing services.
The citizens can avail of the State Government services on mobile apps and it will save a lot of time and finances of citizens going from one office to another. About 98 per cent people of the State have opened their bank accounts under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Jan Dhan Yojana, officials stated. The Pension Yojana, students' scholarships, and other monetary benefits will be transferred to the beneficiaries' accounts through the medium of lok Seva Kendras.
The Chief Minister revealed that the services will be extended to the local bodies soon so the common citizen can avail of the municipal taxes updates. Singh said that the pilot project was launched to link Arang, Abhanpur, Dhrasiva and Tilda tehsils and in a period of three months entire the State will be linked to the lok Seva Kendras. There are about 300 CHOICE Centres in urban areas and 3,500 Centres in rural areas which are catering to the citizens and providing public services.
The lok Seva Kendras will provide 31 types of services in the initial phase such as income, caste, domicile certificate, marriage, birth and death certificates. mobile apps will provide 21 of these services. Higher Education Minister Prem Prakash Pandey said a person has expectations of clean and transparent administration. If the services are not provided in a time-bound manner there is a provision for penalties also, he said.
Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand said that the lok Seva Kendras will be expanded to all the 27 districts' Collectorates, SDM offices, 146 tehsils and local bodies. About 2,700 computers will be provided to the Kendras soon. Information Technology and Energy Department Principal Secretary Aman Kumar Singh in his inaugural address said that CHOICE Centres were established a decade ago lakhs of citizens utilised the facility till date.
About Rs61 crore will be spent on establishing lok Seva Guarantee Kendras in the entire State, he said. Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Brijmohan Agrawal, Public Works, Housing and Environment Minister Rajesh Munat, Dharsiwa MlA Devjibhai Patel, Arang MlA Naveen Markendeya and Raipur North MlA Srichand Sundrani, zila panchayat president Sharda Verma, Raipur Municipal Corporation Mayor Pramod Dubey, Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (CHiPS) Chief Executive Officer Sourabh Kumar, Raipur Divisional Commissioner Dr Bl Tiwari and Raipur Collector Thakur Ram Singh and a number of senior officers were present at the function.
The officials said that Kendras will be operated on the lines of 'e-District'. The services will be of high quality and easily available. The applicant will be provided status from the day he submits his application till the day his services are given on his mobile or e-mail. If the services are not rendered within the time-limit, then the complaint will be referred to the higher authority.
The officials said that in the first phase, lok Seva Kendras will be started at district, tehsil /Development headquarters. later, it will be extended upto the gram panchayat level. Office space will be provided for lok Seva Kendras at collectorates, local bodies and gram panchayats. The district administration will provide electricity, security and water free of cost. Internet and operator facility will be provided at the Kendras. The officers and employees will be provided training for working in the lok Seva Kendras
