MeeSeva Centres in Telangana Face Heat Over Overcharging, Corruption, and Agent Nexus
Citizens are allegedly charged up to 100 times the official fees as informal networks exploit system loopholes.
Initiated as a one-stop solution to cut red tape and curb fraud, MeeSeva centres across Telangana were planned to bring government services closer to the people. However, a special reality is unfolding on the ground, one where citizens claim they are being pushed into paying far beyond official rates, often at their most vulnerable moments.
The Telangana government has declared upto 50% increase in user charges for services offered through Mee Seva centres. The revised rates are expected to come into effect from April 1. Apart from the hike, an 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) will now be imposed on the services. It has pushed the complete cost burden on applicants to upto 80%.
Under the Telangana e-governance scam, Category-A services have been boosted from ₹35 to ₹62, while Category-B services need to pay about ₹80, up from ₹45. Category-A services typically don’t need any sort of departmental verification. However, the Category-B services include scrutiny by alarmed departments.
The revision also adds an increase in charges for extra pages. Moreover, the users paid ₹2 per page beyond four pages for printing or scanning. Now, it has been raised to ₹2.5 per page.
For example, making an application for a caste certificate, which earlier cost ₹45, will now cost around ₹80, which also adds GST. It shows a considerable increase in the application expenses for citizens. It is expensive for the students and low-income groups.
Moreover, commissions for Mee Seva centre operators have been considerably increased for the first time in about 15 years. The earnings of operators from Category-A services have increased from ₹13 to over ₹40 per transaction. On the other hand, Category-B service commissions have increased to over ₹52.
