Long Queue at Mangalore One Office inside Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) building Fume Citizens while paying Bills or Taxes
Mangaluru: Have you been to the MCC Office building located on MG/Lalbagh Road, either to pay your property tax or to get your birth certificate etc- you will face lots of inconveniences due to the long queue you have to be in, including in front of Mangalore One office located in the MCC building. There are nearly 3-4 Mangalore One Offices in the City, and it’s the same case, you’ll have to wait in long queues, to pay your electric bill, other utility bills, property tax etc etc. While the Mangaluru City is developing and is being called the “Smart City”, still we are living in a vintage era, while rest of the world has gone digital. Mangaluru City Corporation was suppose to to go fully computerized since years, but until today, that dream has not materialized.
We have seen bunch of MCC Mayors come and go, who promise that before their term ends, MCC will be computerized- but it is nothing but fake promises and big talk. Even the idea of introducing online property tax payment which was mooted when Sameer Shukla became the the first IAS officer to take charge as MCC Commissioner in 2008- however, thereafter MCC didn’t follow it up due to technical reasons and the lockdown has yet again made them think of launching it at any cost. In the meantime, the present MCC Commissioner Ajith Kumar Hegde speaking to media had said, “Unfortunately the work on online property tax payment system was pending due to various reasons. We have already discussed about this issue and aware that manual tax payment process may lead to violation of social distancing norms. Hence, we have decided to expedite the project. But it may take a month before we introduce online payment option”.
But we have to believe the Commissioner only when we see it materialize. How hard it is to shift from manual to digital, when everything has gone digital. Why even make people wait for hours in long queues, when the payments of bills, taxes etc could have been done online?. And the staff at these offices are not quick either, either they will be on their mobile phones or take their own time to complete a transaction. Such is the situation at any of the Mangalore One Offices in the City.
A citizen standing in the queue in front of Mangalore One office in MCC building speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “It’s been nearly 30 minutes I have been waiting in this queue to pay my water bill. My bill is only Rs 100, but the time spent here waiting in the queue is worth more than that. I am surprised that MCC can’t even shift from manual payment mode to online. Even the promise of MCC of paying property tax online is still not seen the light of the day. It’s indeed a shame that a upcoming Smart City is still relying on vintage standards”.
Payment of water bills was among the 10 on-line services launched by the MCC long ago. Incidentally, on-line water bill payment did not take off at all. While announcing the launch of the services in the council, the then corporation Commissioner Mohammed Nazir stated that the services covered on-line were those for whom there was a demand. Yet another citizen said that when the corporation announced the launch of on-line services he was happy that he could save time, as it eliminated the need for standing in queues in banks and at MangaloreOne centres. But when he logged on to the portal of the corporation, it turned out to be a damp squib. He said that the civic body did not issue water bills for three months, and the latest bill he was sent was a week ago. As the on-line system was not working, he went to Mangalore One, and had to face the brunt of long queue there.
A senior official in the water supply section of the civic body who did not want his name to be mentioned blamed it on issues with e-Sweekruthi software of the government to receive bills on-line. He said that as the issues have not been addressed fully, the corporation has not been able to receive amounts on-line. Once the issues are solved by the Municipal Reforms Cell, he added.
So sorry folks, unless and until MCC takes quick action in shifting payments of bills, taxes etc from manual to digital, you will have to suffer and face the brunt of the slow decision making and implementable work of MCC. Have a nice day?
There is no rush at Derebail and not many people at Kadri ,where there are 5 counters. People should start using these places if it’s closer to their houses or offices.
It is advisable to make online payments to avoid crowded places.
Even during the normal period, one had to run from window to window and climb up and down the stairs to complete the payment of property tax, trade licence fees and what not. Every where you have to wait while the staff had their own priorities. It’s a crying shame for Mangalore corporation. I cannot understand what prevents them go digital.
Mangalore City Corporation should take immediate action to provide the online payment facility to the users for Water Tax, Property Tax etc to avoid inconvenience to the public and also it will increase the revenue to the Mangalore City Corporation
Kateel ji…south mangalore mLa,north mangalore Mla please, listen…
To these woes,how long will you work for BJP alone, 1% time genuinely give for planning if not executing