Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : Aurangabad bench of Bombay high court has restrained authorities from finalising the process of establishing 850 new Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendras in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district without its permission, while hearing a petition challenging the expansion drive. A division bench of Justices Nitin Suryawanshi and Abasaheb Shinde issued notices to state govt and other respondents and posted the matter for hearing on Oct 28. The petition has been filed by an association of existing Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra operators, challenging govt resolution (GR) of March 27, 2025, its corrigendum dated June 2, 2025, and an August 13, 2026, advertisement issued by District Setu Committee inviting applications for 850 new centres, including 185 in urban areas and 665 in rural areas. Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Mayur Salunke argued that authorities failed to follow the procedure prescribed under the Jan 19, 2018, GR before issuing the advertisement. The association also questioned the population-based norms introduced under the March 2025 GR. It pointed out that while two centres were permitted for every 25,000 people in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) areas and two centres for every 10,000 residents in other municipal corporations and municipal councils, the policy proposed four centres for every 5,000 people in certain municipal council areas. The petitioners further challenged the revised revenue-sharing model, stating that Union govt’s common services centre (CSC) scheme allocated 80% of commissions to village-level entrepreneurs or operators. The March 2025 GR, however, reduced the share of Aaple Sarkar operators to 65%, allegedly affecting their financial interests. They also highlighted delays in payment of transaction-based commissions and placed details of payments made during 2025 on record. After hearing the submissions, HC directed that the selection process initiated through the Aug 13 advertisement shall not be finalised without its leave until further orders.
Stay updated with the latest Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar news. He contended that no survey or objective assessment of existing centres had been conducted to justify the need for additional facilities. Relying on CSC guidelines, the association argued that any expansion must be preceded by a demand analysis assessing local requirements, population coverage, viability and financial sustainability. It claimed no such exercise had been undertaken before announcing the new centres. The petitioners submitted that many existing operators had been running Maha E-Seva and Aaple Sarkar Kendras for over a decade and invested substantially in infrastructure, including computers, printers, scanners, biometric devices, internet connectivity and office premises. Download the TOI App.