Delays in domicile, income certificates at Pune e-Seva Kendras raise concerns ahead of admissions

Pune: Delays in issuance of domicile and income certificates at e-Seva Kendras across Pune district have left students and parents in a state of panic as the college admission season begins. The district administration had shut down 89 e-Seva Kendras and Citizen Facilitation Centres (CFCs) last week for violating operational norms.

Applicants alleged that several centres were plagued by inadequate staffing, irregular hours, and poor coordination, making it nearly impossible to receive time-bound services guaranteed under the Right to Services Act.

A resident from Hingane said his domicile certificate application submitted on May 13 was uploaded only on May 19 after repeated follow-ups. “Even the contact numbers displayed at the centre were incorrect,” he said.

He further alleged that while the govt-approved fee for a domicile certificate was approximately Rs69, he was forced to pay over Rs350. “I paid because I urgently needed the document, but the delay has already affected my timeline for personal work.”

Parents accompanying students to centres said repeated visits had become common due to delay in uploading of documents.

“We applied for income and domicile certificates, but it took three days for the documents to be uploaded,” said a parent from the city. “We need these by next week for admissions, but we are stuck in a loop of constant follow-ups.”

Students in rural areas face similar hurdles. One applicant noted that they are frequently told the “server is down” or “the operator is unavailable,” leaving them without the basic documents mandatory for entrance exams and college seats.

Citizens said the rush during the admission season should have been anticipated. “Domicile and income certificates are mandatory for college admissions and entrance exams. The administration should have made special arrangements during this period,” said a student applicant.

Activist Shrikant Joshi pointed out that this is an annual failure of planning. “There is always a rush during admission season. Instead of reacting after complaints emerge, the authorities should plan for crowd management and deploy additional operators for these peak months,” he said.

The district administration currently oversees a network that originally included 2,409 centres — 1,366 under the Zilla Parishad at the gram panchayat level and 1,043 under the collectorate. Following recent inspections, 89 centres were shuttered for non-compliance, leaving roughly 950 collectorate-linked centres operational.

“Regular inspections are being carried out. Centres have been instructed to function only from designated locations and charge only approved fees. Strict action will be taken against violations,” a senior district official told TOI.

“Regular inspections are ongoing,” a senior district official said. “Centres have been instructed to function only from designated locations and charge only approved fees. We will take strict action against any further violations.” Officials added that centres have been directed to prioritise student applications and deploy extra staff during peak hours.

Operators, however, said technical limitations were slowing the process. “Each centre has only one login, so only one operator can upload documents at a time. With server issues, each application takes considerable time,” said an operator requesting anonymity.

The document-heavy nature of the process adds to the delay. A single domicile application requires seven to eight scanned pages, including birth certificates, school leaving certificates, utility bills, and Aadhaar cards. “We often collect documents during the day and stay late into the evening just to finish the uploads,” another operator added.

Officials clarified that while domicile and income certificates generally take around two weeks to process, caste and non-creamy layer certificates can take up to 45 days. With the admission clock ticking, students and parents are calling for immediate technical interventions to prevent a total collapse of the system..