Karnataka Labour Dept to wean away from Seva Sindhu

The Labour Department has decided to break away from the Karnataka government’s flagship Seva Sindhu portal and start its own website for all its services in the future.

Through the new portal, workers will be able to apply for all benefits and schemes, including the government’s Covid-19 financial package.

The department’s decision comes amid several complaints that unorganised sector workers are finding it difficult to apply for the government’s financial package through the Seva Sindhu portal.

According to Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar, the existing portal has several glitches, delaying benefits to beneficiaries.

Speaking to DH, Hebbar said the Seva Sindhu portal was burdened with hundreds of services across various departments.

“As a result of this, the server is always busy and slow. With the new portal dedicated exclusively for labour services, we intend to speed up the applications. These include services for workers concerning their pension, health, marriage assistance and education among others,” he explained. These services will still also be available on Seva Sindhu.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has already given his consent and the portal is expected to be up within two months, Hebbar said.

Elaborating further, Hebbar said workers approaching citizen service centres for government schemes and benefits often have to forego a day’s wage and there are middlemen taking advantage of this situation. “This paves way for corruption as some staff demand money to upload applications,” he said.

While the state government recently announced a Rs 2,000 Covid-19 financial package for domestic workers, activists have alleged that the process is cumbersome and that middlemen are demanding money to process the applications.

A petition has been filed in the High Court in this regard. Activist Geeta Menon, joint secretary, Domestic Workers’ Rights Union pointed out that in most of the Seva Sindhu Kendras, meant to help beneficiaries upload their applications, money up to Rs 250 is charged unofficially.

Uploading the documents from home is not easy as there are too many forms to be filled. Domestic workers also have to get an authorisation from a gazetted officer, making the process cumbersome, she said, urging the government to make the process easier for workers.