Jalandhar, once among the best-performing districts in Punjab for delivering essential public services, has slipped to the 16th position in the state due to a sharp rise in pending applications at Sewa Kendras and the Citizen Connect portal.
According to data from the eSewa Punjab portal, 57,423 applications were pending in the district as of Tuesday, resulting in a pendency rate of 8.04 per cent. These applications have exceeded their completion timeline. Officials noted that Jalandhar had consistently ranked among the top three districts in Punjab for maintaining low pendency levels until a sudden increase in applications over the past few months changed the scenario.
Surge in SC Certificate Applications
The decline is largely attributed to an unprecedented rise in Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate applications. The spike coincided with the announcement of the Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana on March 8, under which the government promised monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000 to women from the general category and Rs 1,500 to SC women, with benefits to be rolled out from July 1.
Jalandhar, having one of the largest SC populations in the state, witnessed a sudden rush of applicants seeking caste certificates at Sewa Kendras, adding to the existing pendency. Official figures show that SC certificate applications jumped from 1,907 in February to 10,764 in March. The demand remained unusually high in May as well, with 8,497 applications received across the district.
Manpower Constraints
The Sewa Kendra at the District Administrative Complex alone receives around 200 SC certificate applications daily. Despite the surge, manpower has remained largely unchanged. The centre operates with 23 operators, while only 175 are deployed across all 35 Sewa Kendras in the district. This puts additional pressure on staff to process applications, which involve multiple levels of verification. Currently, certificates take around 21 days to be issued from the date of application. While the government fee for the certificate is zero, applicants need to pay a facilitation fee of Rs 65.
Impact of Strike
Interestingly, the surge in pendency has been recorded despite Sewa Kendras in Jalandhar remaining largely functional during the ongoing statewide strike by Sewa Kendra employees across Punjab. Since May 26, employees have been protesting for job regularisation and better wages, disrupting services in several districts. However, officials said operations in Jalandhar were affected for only one day, with most staff continuing to work.
