Thiruvananthapuram: The indefinite delay in allotting new Akshaya centres is posing much difficulty to citizens who struggle to avail themselves of many of the e-services being extended by the Kerala Government in a timely manner.

Presently, there is a shortage of over 4,600 Akshaya centres across various districts.

“The shortage of Akshaya centres has come to our notice. New centers will be opened soon,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stated.

While the Information Technology department had recommended the setting up of 6,957 Akshaya centres back in 2004 to deliver various public services digitally, only 2,761 centers are functioning now.

The Government’s focus on digitalization meant a majority of the services are provided online. But the shortage of Akshaya centers, depended on by a large section of society, is resulting in a huge delay in the delivery of such services.

Long queues before Akshaya centers are a common sight now, especially in urban areas. The staff, on most occasions, sends customers back, giving them tokens and asking them to come later. This forces the public to wait for over a day to avail of some of the common services.

Though several people have applied for running Akshaya centres, the further process in this regard is often delayed.

As per the norms no two Akshaya centres should be located within a 2 km radius in panchayats, 1.5 km radius in municipalities, and 1 km radius in the jurisdiction of corporations.

Meanwhile, the Government has decided to initiate action against those centres operating without exhibiting the fees for various services.

"It has been directed that all the centers should exhibit the fees being levied for all the services. Inspections will be held to ensure adherence to the rules," the CM had said.

Allotment procedure
An Akshaya centre is allotted based on the needs of people in a particular region. If a proposed location satisfies the distance criteria and gets the nod of the District e-Governance society, a new centre will be allotted there. It’s the Government that decides on the locations on the basis of the recommendation of the Akshaya Project Director. Interested candidates have to pass an online test and interview held by the Director. A rank list will be prepared thereafter, and the centres will be allotted to entrepreneurs based on it.

33 KWA counters to be closed
Meanwhile, steps have been taken to close down cash counters of the Kerala Water Authority if an Akshaya centre is operating within a 200-meter radius of the KWA office. The authorities have decided to stop the operation of 33 such cash counters. The official explanation is that the same is part of the process to make available to the public the services of all government departments online.

Upon closing down the KWA counters, the public will be forced to pay the service fees charged at Akshaya centres.

The Kerala Water Authority Staff Association (INTUC) has demanded not to shut the counters. Chief Engineer (HRD & General) has convened a meeting at 3.30 pm today to discuss the matter.

The Akshaya Project aims to promote digital services among the public and thereby help public benefit from e-governance initiatives.