Srinagar: Scores of members from the Khidmat Centres Association (KCA) took to the streets of Srinagar’s Press Enclave in a fervent protest demanding their absorption as regular employees in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Bank. The demonstrators also called for the rollback of the new policy mandating the establishment of one Khidmat Centre in each village.
The Khidmat Centres, initiated under the J&K Bank Khidmat Centre Project, were intended to serve as hubs for e-governance services in the region. However, members of the KCA claim that their services have not been utilized as promised since their inception in 2009.
Photograph By Vedavyaz Maharshi
Jehangir, a member of the Khidmat Centre, expressed the frustration of the protesters, stating, "It has been 11 years, but not even a single service has been routed through us. We have been protesting for a very long time, and each time, the J&K Bank gave us assurances, but nothing has happened so far."
He also pointed out a shift in the recruitment criteria, saying, "When we were enrolled, our criteria were to have professional IT degrees, and now they are enrolling more people with 10th pass degrees."
"The recent decision to establish one Khidmat Centre in each village will negatively impact our salaries as the wages will be divided among a larger number of centers as the initial provision called for one Khidmat Centre in every six villages," he told The Himalayan Post.
Protesters highlighted their ongoing struggles and expressed their concerns over the appointment of new Business Correspondents, which they believe has further added to their challenges.
Originally designed as integral components of the Business Correspondent (BC) network, the Khidmat Centres have experienced an influx of banking operations and an extensive BC rollout.
Moreover, the protesters criticized the role played by CSC e-governance Services Limited, a private company operating under CSC-SPV from Delhi, in the project.
They called upon Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chairman of the J&K Bank to intervene and address their grievances promptly, seeking permanent rehabilitation of the Khidmat Centres without further delays.
The Khidmat Centres were originally intended to serve as intermediaries for Government to Customer (G2C), Business to Customer (B2C), and Business to Business (B2B) services, streamlining interactions between citizens and the J&K Bank at the village level.
Employees operating in these centers are known as Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). These centers were also tasked with providing a range of offline services, including desktop publishing (DTP), digital photography, scanning, CD writing, J&K Bank loan documentation, and payment of mobile bills and prepaid recharges. It’s primary objective was to simplify documentation processes with the help of banks and IT, reducing the need for villagers to travel long distances for essential services.
There are approximately 1,204 Khidmat Centres spread across J&K, all part of the National e-Governance Plan.
In 2022, the association protested b=for four months in Jammu over similar issues, The protest was called off due to Covid.
