Surat  News : Residents Struggle To Get Income Certificates at Jan Seva Kendras

SURAT,GUJARAT : Surat, also known as Gujarat’s diamond metropolis, is seeing a clear discrepancy between the ground reality and the digital promises of the state government. Though the Gujarat Government stresses the ‘Digital Gujarat’ portal and facilitation centers to streamline the income certificate obtaining procedure, the scene at Surat’s Jan Seva Kendras paints a different picture.

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Hoping to get one of the limited 200 tokens granted daily for income certificates, local resident Shailesh Parmar queued in a serpentine queue at the Jan Seva Kendra in Athwalines, Surat since 6 am. “I have been standing here for the last three hours.” he remarked. “I’m not sure whether I would get a token today though. Should you miss it, you must return the next day and line up once more.

Dilip Patel, a shop keeper said, “For the last two days, I am closing my shop and stand in the serpentine queue. After two days, I finally got the token, but I am not sure when I am going to get  my income certificate. There are many people like me who are suffering due to the slow pace of work at the Jan Seva Kendra”

Starting in the early morning, the lengthy lines mirror the hardships of hundreds of people who must wait hours to apply for an income certificate under the sweltering heat. For agents and brokers, this daily grind has unintentionally created a rich possibility. Often working with officials inside the Jan Seva Kendras, these middlemen charge outrageous amounts to hasten the procedure, therefore exploiting the desperation of people.

Another unhappy resident, Rajesh Dhobhi, pointed out the widespread corruption. “The agents are charging heavily for acquiring the income certificates issued from inside the office,” he said. “Still, we must wait in line for the token.”

The scene was disorderly during a visit by The Blunt Times team to the Jan Seva Kendra in Athwaline. From morning, people lined up patiently; brokers, distinguished by their bags full of paperwork, moved through the throng providing their expensive services. These brokers’ open operations draw attention to a structural corruption and inefficiency problem.

The circumstances clearly contradict the state’s digital project meant to simplify administrative procedures. The ‘Digital Gujarat’ webpage was created to let people apply for income certificates online, therefore lowering the demand for actual lines and accelerating service delivery. But the Jan Seva Kendras’ limited daily tokens and great demand make the digital pledges useless.

Authorities assert that the facilitation centers are supposed to help people not familiar with digital tools. Still, the reality on the ground reveals a system crippled by corruption and swamped by demand. The daily cap of 200 tokens is not enough to satisfy the population’s needs, which fuels exploitation and discontent.