Digitalisation of services: Despite govt claims, middlemen make a killing at service centres

For instance, to get name changed in Aadhaar card the rate is around Rs 6000 in Nallakunta area while at some places one has to shell down Rs 3000 and get a birth or death certificate without any delay and to avoid making rounds of these centres

Hyderabad: Contrary to the claims of the government that digitalisation has almost done away with middlemen in utilising various services, the network of such people continues to thrive outside various service centres like e-Seva, Mee Seva, Mandal offices etc.

People who want to apply for birth, death, caste and income certificates, Shaadi Mubarak, change of name in Aadhaar card etc were facing difficulties. It is difficult to get a slot easily at these centres in the normal course and the middlemen are said to be demanding huge amounts for getting such works done fast.

For instance, to get name changed in Aadhaar card the rate is around Rs 6000 in Nallakunta area while at some places one has to shell down Rs 3000 and get a birth or death certificate without any delay and to avoid making rounds of these centres.

The applicants alleged that claiming that the application was not in order, the officials keep applications pending up to three months without giving approval.

But if one approaches the middlemen or any agent, the work is done in shortest possible time.

People say that getting caste, income, and other certificates online from the Municipal Corporation was also not an easy task forcing service seekers to pay extra money to the middlemen to get their certificate-related services done.

Mohammed Ahmed, vice-president of TDP Minority Cell said that for the name change in Adhaar Card, the middleman charge around Rs 6,000 and the work is done in a week.

The middlemen claim that they have to grease the palm of the officials to complete the work. But he assures to handover the certificate in 7-10 working days,” said Sathi Reddy, an applicant who approached the agent for income certificate. The government should break this nexus between the middlemen and service providers, she said.

Many told Hans India that when they had applied for Shaadi Mubarak or other such services, many times their applications are rejected without giving any reason. But if applied with the help of middlemen, they are cleared in shortest time.

Nadia Lubna, a degree student, said that she has been applying for the income certificate at Bahadurpura Mandal office. “When I visited the office, the senior officer did not explain the reason for the delay. But those who applied through middlemen were getting certificates in time, she alleged.