GVMC online payment yet to catch up

There have been some operational problems in the system, says official

Taxpayers wait for their turn at the eSeva counter at Ramakrishna Beach in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

Online payment, air/train reservation, and cash transfer have become quite common and a net-savy younger generation is more comfortable shopping/paying online.

But for payment of property tax and water tax in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation the online payment facility is hardly available.

Few transactions

Though the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has introduced the facility way back in February 2010, there have been ‘a very few online transactions,' admit officials.

With assesses rushing to the e-Seva centres and AP online centres to pay property tax and water tax, it will be saving time and energy if payments is made online.

When the online payment was announced in 2010, it was stated that assessees could use their debit cards to pay online.

But two years down the line, the online payment has not caught up.

One would have expected GVMC that had pioneered e-Seva through its ‘Saukaryam' centre more than a decade ago and won several awards, to promote online payment aggressively. The online payment was introduced to meet the e-governance requirements as a part of reforms under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

“There have been operational problems. For instance, the payments made through AP online portal are updated once in a month,” admitted an official on Wednesday.

Anyone who wants to pay online would like it to immediately reflect on GVMC website.

With the property tax collection caught in the controversial hike for nearly two years, the payments have been sluggish.

In the prevailing conditions, the GVMC is also not pushing for online payment.

On its part the AP Online also has to make certain arrangements, says the official. The system for online payment is expected to be in place during the next financial year.