Punjab to provide e-convenience in all local bodies

CHANDIGARH - Soon, people in all of the state’s districts will be able to pay their house tax and water bills, claim arrears and submit various government forms all under one roof, a minister announced here Tuesday.

The state plans to set up e-governance centres in all municipal towns and cities through the public-private partnership mode, minister for local bodies Manoranjan Kalia said.

“The project aims to bring high levels of citizen satisfaction through integrated service delivery on anytime, anywhere basis,” Kalia said after a pre-bid meeting here Tuesday.

He said service delivery infrastructure would be set up in the form of urban ‘Suvidha’ (facilitation) centres located across the state.

“With the click of a button, all details of house tax dues, water supply bills and recoverable arrears etc. of all urban local bodies would be available at headquarter- level,” Kalia added.

People without access to the internet can come to these centres and be assured of a hassle-free service, he said.

“People will be able to go to conveniently-located authorised kiosks, in addition to online services for bill payments and other services,” he said.

The centres will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on all days, except Sunday.

In the first phase, services would be provided for death and birth registration, water and sewerage, property tax, building application fees, licence and for lodging complaints.

Leading firms like TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Infosystems, among others, participated in the pre-bid meeting.