Online payments of property tax have dropped drastically for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) reportedly after a new feature has been introduced in the software to secure the authenticity.
Payments using credit/debit cards and digital wallet platforms through online have come down after the portal was updated to seek phone number of the assessee, sources have informed.
To know the amount of the bill, the property tax payer will have to enter his/her phone number, upon which he or she will get a one-time password (OTP) to the mobile number. The amount will be displayed only if the OTP is entered. However, there is no OTP for payment of the bill, though phone number and email are to be entered there too.
While officials are claiming it as a measure for enhanced security, it is learnt that the decision is a knee-jerk reaction to a few reports in media about long pending property tax bills of the Chief Minister’s camp office Pragathi Bhavan in Begumpet.
Officials were said to have been miffed with the unauthorised access to the details of Pragathi Bhavan’s property tax with mere Property Tax Identification Number (PTIN), and to introduce more checks, features to seek phone number and send OTP have been introduced into the software, sources say. However, inexplicably, online payments have reportedly come down after introduction of the feature. Officials say, that the daily collection through various online modes has dropped from the usual ₹ 40 lakh to about ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh. The overall figures of payment, however, remain encouraging, with GHMC garnering about ₹ 2 crore revenue per day through property tax.
Sources attribute the fall in online revenue to software glitches, as several assessees are unable to get the OTPs on mobile phones. This year, up to Wednesday, ₹669 crore has been collected by way of property tax.
