Maha eSeva Kendras

Making rounds to the city collectors’ offices for certificates, permission or renewal of licences will soon be a thing of the past. Thanks to the national egovernance programme under which 150 Common Service Centres (CSC) have been approved for Mumbai. According to a recent government order, these CSCs under the garb of Maha e-seva Kendras will provide 43 types of services - project affected persons certificate, land acquisition certificate, NA permission, solvency certificate over Rs 5 lakh, video exhibitors license, licenses related with cinema theatres, license for cultural shows, renewal of arms license with extension to the permission to purchase arms etc. - within the time frame ranging from one day to 60 days at nominal fees of Rs. 10 to 20. Interestingly, most officers from city administration are reluctant to implement the Maha e-seva kendra project for the fear of being rendered workless as people may not visit them. A senior official in Mantralaya said, “a similar scheme implemented in Andhra Pradesh has been a big success. Instead of being victims to the whims and fancies of babus, people are queuing up before eseva kendra.” The project, which was devised threefour months ago by the Democratic Front government, is yet to be launched on a massive scale. Basic work like finalising places, connecting them with the local collectors’ offices and with the state government server is going on, said the official requesting anonymity. The government has decided to set up 10,483 Maha e-seva kendras in rural areas in the state whereas 1336 kendras would be started in urban centres. Neighbouring areas like Thane city, Kalyan, Dombivli, Bhiwandi, Mira-Bhayendar will have 60 such kendras. According to sources, an agency to set up centres in Mumbai and Thane has also been finalised. To handle the state level operations, the government has entrusted the job to Setu Maharashtra.