Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, led a high-level meeting to expand the role of Community Service Centres (CSCs) in Jammu & Kashmir, aiming to streamline Government-to-Citizen (G2C) and Government-to-Business (G2B) services. The initiative focuses on integrating a wider range of government services into the CSC platform, particularly to improve accessibility in remote areas.
Key departments, including Revenue, Housing & Urban Development (H&UDD), Agriculture, Rural Development (RDD), Labour & Employment, Power Development (PDD), Jal Shakti, Industries & Commerce, and the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BOCWWB), were identified for service integration. This expansion is expected to enhance service delivery and increase earnings for CSC operators.
Dulloo emphasized the “Digidost” feature, enabling citizens to access services from home at regulated rates. He directed the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to enhance CSC operator capacity and provide the IT Department with dashboard access for monitoring transactions and service delivery.
To further leverage CSC infrastructure, banks were urged to explore transforming them into Business Correspondents (BCs) or Unbanked Rural Centres (URCs). The meeting also addressed the establishment of new government office touchpoints and operational challenges.
Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production Department (APD), Shailendra Kumar, proposed creating model CSCs in each block as one-stop service centers, encouraging wider replication and integration with government portals. Principal Secretary, Finance, Santosh D. Vaidya, stressed the importance of auditing data privacy, assessing commission structures, and documenting success stories to highlight CSC viability.
Commissioner Secretary, IT Department, Saurabh Bhagat, highlighted CSCs as crucial last-mile access points for e-governance under the Digital India initiative. He reported that of 18,618 CSCs in J&K, 12,602 are active, and noted the existence of 313 BCs, various ASK centers, UCLs, and 733 new touchpoints in government offices and educational institutions.
Key transaction statistics were presented, including:
- 3.2 lakh Aadhaar service transactions
- 4.1 lakh micro ATM transactions
- 13 lakh G2C and B2C service transactions
- 11.9 lakh Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) transactions
- 32,212 “Digidost” appointments
CSCs are also playing a vital role in implementing welfare schemes like PM Surya Ghar, Vishwakarma Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, PM-KISAN, and PMFBY.
The meeting concluded with a call for strategic interventions to maximize CSC potential and improve service delivery across Jammu & Kashmir.
