Srinagar, Aug 2: Terming Khidmat Centres as important initiative to provide independent employment avenues to the educated youth, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Tuesday approved constitution of a Working Group of the Administrative Secretaries and Jammu and Kashmir Bank Authorities to work out a strategy for making the centres more viable, economically sound and service-wise efficient.
 “The service centres would not only ensure substantial livelihood to the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) but help in a big way to provide public services to people speedily,” he said adding that these centres could be utilized for the service delivery under social welfare, higher education, power development, consumer affairs and public distribution sectors effectively.
 Chairing a high level meeting here this morning the Chief Minister, according to an official statement, reviewed the status of progress of these centres and took stock of the measures under implementation to involve Khidmat Centres for more and more public service delivery enabling them to be economically sound.
 “You should study the successful utilization of similar centres in other states and replicate it here feasibly”, he told the Information Technology Department adding that the role of Jammu and Kashmir Bank in this direction should be more positive and result yielding.
 The Chief Minister emphasized on providing full assistance to the VLEs to make their ventures successful and facilitate public service in a better way.
 “You should work out use of these centres for providing admission forms of higher educational institutions, collection of electricity bills, employment forms and other such services in social welfare and consumer affairs and public distribution departments.
 Speaking in the meeting Minister for Information Technology, Aga Syed Ruhullah presented details of the initiatives taken by the Information Technology Department to strengthen these centres and universalize e-governance in the State.
 The Minister said that social welfare, employment, agriculture, horticulture, CAPD, health, rural development, election, forests and fisheries departments possess the scope for e-services and IT Department has focused on it.
 In a PowerPoint presentation the Commissioner Secretary, Information Technology, M. K. Dwivedi said that by the end of July 2011 as many as 592 Khidmat Centres have been established in the State while there is a target of 1109 such centres to be achieved in first phase. He said 515 centres have on-line monitoring tool (OMT).
 The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas, Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Mushtaq Ahmad, Commissioner Secretary Power, Basharat Ahmad Dhar, Commissioner Secretary Higher Education, Tanveer Jahan, Commissioner Secretary Employment, Farooq Ahmad Peer, Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare, Jeet Lal Gupta and other senior officers.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 2 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 2 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 3 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST