North India Statesman
News India Live, Digital Desk: New Dimension to Public Facility: The Government of Bihar has taken an important initiative to further strengthen the reach of good governance and digital services in rural areas. Now 65 types of important government services will be available under one roof in the panchayat offices of the state. The main objective of this step is to get rural citizens to get rid of the troubles of revolving urban or district headquarters for small needs, and they are to provide all the necessary facilities in their house. Under this scheme of the State Government, only panchayat buildings in rural areas are being developed as multipurpose service centers. This means that people will now be able to apply for basic and very important documents like caste certificate, residence certificate, income certificate from their Gram Panchayat office. Along with this, work related to many other government schemes and services will also be completed from there. This is a change that will save both the time and money of the village-countryside, and their access to government services will be much easier. The purpose of strengthening the Panchayat in this way is to bridge the digital divide and ensure that the benefit of technology reaches far away rural areas. Often the villagers had to face a lot of trouble in getting their work done due to lack of information and right guidance. With this new system, they will be able to get all the information and necessary assistance at the local level. The exact list of 65 services provided by the government will be quite wide, but it will include various types of certificates and application processes related to education, social welfare, agriculture, health and land. Panchayat Secretary and other appointed employees will be trained to operate these services so that the citizens do not face any kind of problem. This initiative is actually a big step towards making Gandhiji’s dream of ‘Gram Swaraj’ and empowering local bodies. This will also increase transparency and efficiency in government functioning.
