VOICE: Online Delivery of Municipal Service in Vijaywada

Introduction

The Vijaywada Online Information Center (VOICE) delivers municipal services such as building approvals and birth and death certificates. It also handles the collection of property, water and sewerage taxes. The VOICE system uses five kiosks located close to the citizens. These were linked to the back end processes in the municipal offices through a wide area network. The application has reduced corruption, made access to services more convenient, and has improved the finances of the municipal government (known as "municipal corporations" in India).


Application Context

Vijaywada is a major agricultural trading center serving domestic as well as export markets. Citizens of Vijaywada have faced many difficulties in dealing with the municipal government, including bribery and harassment as well as the need to make frequent trips. Several trips to municipal government offices were needed to obtain a building permit or death and birth certificates. The issuance of certificates often was delayed with the intent to extract a bribe. However, complaints could not be filed easily and officers were inaccessible.

In paying taxes/rentals/charges for advertisements in public places, a citizen had to visit the appropriate municipal department to get a demand note and then go to the bank to make the payment. Meanwhile, the municipality lost revenue as a result of collusion between staff and the payee to lower the demand, and due to the inability to send notices to defaulters for follow up.


New Approach

There are two components of the VOICE system: 1) work stations distributed in key departments where the work of the department has been automated, and 2) the citizen's interface.

Citizens can go to any of the five kiosks set up in different parts of the city. Some information can be accessed from an Interactive Voice Response System. Those with an Internet connection also can connect to the Web server and retrieve information.

The hardware components include four servers located in the municipal office and 18 clients distributed amongst various departments networked in a LAN. Each kiosk has two terminals with multilingual software. Application software such as Lotus Notes for grievance work flow and a Geographic Information System are used actively. CMC Ltd., a public sector software company, developed the entire application as a product which can be customized for other municipal governments in India.

The following departments have been automated: town planning, taxation, public health, estate, and engineering. Citizens can see the municipal budget allocations online. The status of tax payment, grievance registration, and birth/death certificates also is available online. Business people can inquire about their tax status, advertising space available for lease, and register complaints.


Costs and Benefits

The benefits have accrued to the citizens and the municipal government. Corruption has been reduced, services are quicker, and the municipality has become more responsive. In just under a year, the system issued 15,000 birth/death certificates, 2,100 building approvals and 224,000 demand notices for taxes. Nearly 7,700 grievances were registered, of which 97% were resolved. The commissioner can view these statistics by wards and departments, making monitoring more effective. Nearly 700 suggestions have been sent by citizens.

All internal processing of applications is now screen-based, generating greater efficiency. For example, the rent calculation for the bill boards is automatic and transparent; the system tracks advertising agencies that have not renewed contracts; and outstanding collections are sent timely notices. The impact on revenue should become known after June 2001.


Contact Information

  • Arvind Kumar (the Municipal Commissioner of Vijaywada during the development of the application)

 

 

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