TN: 96 e-Sevai Centres to be Shut, Plight of Staff Unclear

The transactions in Tamil Nadu's e-Sevai centres have increased post the COVID-19 lockdowns. Tamil Nadu e-Sevai centres are service providers that help the public access e-Governance in the state.

The Information Technology minister Mano Thangaraj announced that the state is developing the next generation integrated service delivery platform 'e-Sevai 2.0'. The department has added 194 new services to e-Sevai centres.

Yet, many e-Sevai centres are being shut down by the state government, and the workers are being rendered jobless.

The Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited (TACTV), which overlooks e-Sevai, traced 96 centres where "the number of transactions is very poor/less". In its board meeting held on May 4, it ordered all of them to be merged with other centres.

Opposing this move, under the leadership of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), e-Sevai centre workers held a protest on May 9 outside the District Collector office in Chennai. Although the centres are ordered to be merged, there is no mention of what would happen to the staff working there.

PLIGHT OF STAFF UNCLEAR

The order following the recent TACTV Board meeting mentions the list of e-Sevai centres that should be merged with common service centres (CSCs), out of which 60 are in Chennai. But it said nothing about the staff working in them.

The order read, "The assets available in such centres should be taken away and to be kept in the office of the District Deputy Manager/Special Tahsildar." It even mentioned that the centre's name should be removed to avoid confusion and the premise should be handed over to the concerned department.

Syed, an e-Sevai staff worker, said, "Earlier, the TACTV summoned us and told us to join the Aadhar enrollment centre. As it was done without any order or notice, we refused."

He said, "They told us they would block our staff card, and we can shift our work to Aadhar. Later, I was shocked to know that if our cards are blocked, it means we are dismissed for misconduct."

He further said, "They told me to close my centre. I said, 'why should I?' I worked for seven years.' As an alternate method to shut the centres, they held a TACTV Board meeting and announced merging centres."

The announcement of shutting the centres comes while a case filed by the CITU is underway in the labour court demanding regularisation of e-Sevai centre staff.

POOR INFRASTRUCTURE

The e-Sevai centre staff outrightly opposed the argument that the number of transactions is low and poor. They say that besides the lack of infrastructure facilities and the delay in work, they ensure flow in transitions.

Syed said, "My centre is running very well. The centre's scanner does not work. I use my phone to scan documents, transfer them to the computer and then upload them."

He also said, "The internet connection was weak sometime back, so I called the ACT people who said the internet was fine, but the ethernet cable was loose. So, I spent around Rs 300 out of my pocket and bought a cable."

Besides all these infrastructure difficulties, Syed asserted that he ensured around 500 transactions/month.

CITU leader Gopikumar said, "The e-Sevai staff are treated poorly. They have to sign into the biometric system five times a day to prove that they are not scuttling work. Does this happen to any government staff?"

The e-Sevai staff earn Rs 7,700 monthly salary. The salary was the same seven years back when the e-Sevai centres were launched, and there has been no increment since.

GOVT PLANS UNCLEAR

Reducing the number of e-Sevai centres has its fallback.

Gopikumar said, "The public will have to travel to other centres if e-Sevai maiyams are shut, and this would increase the distance and increase the rush in other centres."

"The government is hell-bent on shutting and reducing the number of e-Sevai centres. They feel a centre for each zone and taluka are sufficient, no need for division level e-Sevai maiyam," said Syed.

"Maybe they will privatise the e-Sevai centres. It is unclear what the government has planned," said Gopikumar.