RTCs are yet to work out modalities of Shakti cards

Bengaluru: Karnataka’s four Regional Transport Corporations (RTCs) are yet to work out the modalities of the Shakti Smart Card (SSC) that has been mandated by the state government for the Shakti Yojana that will offer free bus rides to women and transgenders.
“In the interest of not having anyone misuse the scheme, the smart card is necessary,” a top official in BMTC told TOI.Citing that the Punjab free-bus model was also only meant for the residents of that state, the official said the SSCs will make it easier for women to prove their place of domicile without having to carry an additional identity proof with them all the time.
But what information is required to obtain SSC? What will be the application and collection process? How much will the card cost the government? RTCs too are waiting for answers to these questions. A meeting with the Directorate of Electronic Delivery of Citizen Services (EDCS) and RTCs will be organised shortly where all these modalities will be finalised. “The cards will not cost the users any amount. The state government will bear the cost of issuing the cards. And the concern of the economically weaker classes missing out on the card due to unavailability of domicile documents will also be addressed,” the top official added.
Activists worried
A delegation from Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) met transport minister Ramalinga Reddy to demand that the government drop the smart card and domicile requirements from the scheme. They submitted a memorandum to him highlighting that it is difficult for women from poor households in villages or slums to access Seva Sindhu or centres like Karnataka One, to get this card.
The BBPV has also said that the SSC scheme may lead to a commission racket and raise the risk of exposing a woman’s travel history through IT cloud storage, thus violating their right to privacy.