Village-level entrepreneurs (VLE), who are operating Common Service Centres (CSC) and Seva Sindhus in the district, have accused the State government of blocking their IDs thereby making it difficult for them to provide services, namely senior citizen pension, Sandhya Suraksha, construction labour welfare card issuance, and enrolment to Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka health scheme.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, Haji S. Aboobaker Arlapadavu, general secretary of the Dakshina Kannada CSC VLE Society, said the government abruptly blocked the CSC ID from December 31, 2020, on the ground that the service charge received by the Government since 2018 was lesser than prescribed charge.
“It was because of the fault in the system that a lesser amount was going to the government from our CSC wallet. The VLEs, who earn a living out of CSEs, are severely affected by this action,” Mr. Aboobacker alleged.
President of the society Rohit Kumar said the VLEs are being asked to pay amounts ranging between ₹200 and ₹70,000 for unblocking IDs. “The charge that has gone to the State government is what we have collected from the customer. It is difficult for us to search the customer and get the extra amount. We are not in a position to generate funds necessary to unblock our IDs,” said Mr. Kumar from Munnur village of Mangaluru, who has been asked to pay ₹46,000.
Hyder Ali, the VLE from Belthangady, said the 300-odd VLEs have been providing various services through CSC and Seva Sindhu centres. Of the 300, nearly 200 VLEs operate in rural areas. “With blocking of our IDs, people in rural areas are unable to get services at CSC and Seva Sindhus,” he said.
If the government fails to restore our IDs, the VLEs will be forced to launch an agitation, said Sunil Kumar, an office-bearer of the society.
