Jharkhand was the first state to launch common service centres, locally known as pragya kendras, in April 2007. KT Arasu, director, Alternative for India Development (AID), talks to Chanpreet Khurana about the non-profit’s experience in establishing and running such centres in the Naxal-impacted districts of Palamau, Garwah and Latehar. Excerpts:
As one of the first implementers of the scheme, what were the challenges you faced?
The entire purpose of CSCs is to provide fast-track government services to citizen. In this respect, the government is still going at a snail?s pace. Though three years have passed, very limited government services have been rolled out through CSCs. The delivery of various certificates is still in an infant stage. The economic viability of CSC is at stake. The slow pace of digitisation?of documents such as land records?is affecting the pace of implementation of e-governance services. The statewide area network, called JHARNET in Jharkhand, is connected up to block headquarters. There is no connectivity beyond blocks to panchayats. Even the functioning of SWAN is suboptimal.
Political instability in Jharkhand, frequent change of officials?four IT secretaries in three years?lack of reformist spirit at all levels, absence of citizen-centric thinking and the lack of a faster work culture among government officials also hamper implementation of CSC. Rebel outfits have in the past blasted many cellphone towers, which causes problems in network. Weak and truncated networks also hit CSCs.
Another big challenge is the absence of electricity and connectivity in many remote villages. The cost of running CSCs is very high due to high operating costs. Solar and generator options for running CSCs are very costly. Finding a proper place to house the CSC is also a problem. The poor quality of panchayat bhavans, the lack of security for CSC assets and continuing investment required to train VLEs are the other constraints.
Any rewarding experiences over the years…
CSC turned around the life of Imamudin Khan from Okaragra panchayat in Meral block, Garwah district, Jharkhand. He is a post-graduate and was unemployed for a long time. His frustration and depression made him think of a life under the influence of ultra-Left outfits. CSC converted him as an agent of e-revolution in his village. He has been facilitating e-governance services such as issuing caste and income certificates and other services. He now serves as a model for other CSCs and is running successfully with continuous revenue generation from the services.
We have also succeeded in convincing two deputy commissioners, of Garwah and Palamau, to lay a new path of fast-track governance and government services. They have been outsourcing to us some of the work related to digitisation of land records and the data entry work of many line departments. CSCs were also engaged to monitor sensitive election booths digitally and were engaged for photography and videography works. These new opportunities have helped give recognition and respect to VLEs within the village and government.
Do you think the public-private partnership model is an enabler for getting the scheme off the ground and for its smooth running?
CSC is a basic and life-supporting infrastructure for citizens. At present, there is no local delivery mechanism for government in place at the panchayat/village level. Therefore, purely looking at CSC as business model is a misplaced concept. We consider CSC as an essential village service to citizen. Hence, government has to pay for the infrastructure costs rather than depending on private investment. Being a disturbed region, there is greater logic in calling for more government support to such regions.
Our experience has shown that government is always using the PPP contract clauses to threaten us with penalty. On the other hand, they are not fulfilling their obligations related to e-governance services, electricity and connectivity.
What are the main reasons for some CSCs closing down?
Each state, district and panchayat is unique in many respects, so following homogenised or same business model is not appropriate. The business models conceived by many corporate entities link to their own core areas of business. Each panchayat requires its own business model. The top-down approach is perhaps responsible for the current state of affairs.
Secondly, many corporate/business entities are not rooted in the region. Making CSCs the front for the rural arm of their businesses is a recipe for disaster. Further, some SCAs expect the entire investment to come from the franchisee (or VLE), which, on the basis of our experience, is difficult in reality as they have no or limited resources.
The other reasons are that till date, the e-governance services are yet to be factored into the CSC system. Experience has shown that linking more government services contributes to flow of revenue.
What would your advice be to someone just entering the field looking to operate such centres?
CSC is a social enterprise providing both business and government services to the citizen. Hence, a pure business approach alone would not be appropriate. We need an altogether different citizenship model evolved from the citizen themselves, combining both social and business elements.
Since the government services are yet to be linked with CSC, those who intend to enter into CSC must have a contingency plan till the these services come on stream. Till now, there has been limited evidence of e-preparedness among the government line departments at the district and state level. In such poorly governed regions, there is limited ownership of CSC among the line department. Running CSCs in such regions is difficult.
Training of VLE on continuous basis is the key for success.
It is not possible to generate surplus at least in the first few years. Hence do not enter into CSC without cushion fund for three years.