Launched By Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin

http://www.hinduonnet.com/2007/05/31/stories/2007053110620300.htm ( The Hindu Article)

SMS service to receive plaints, requests from public

Virudhunagar Municipality shows the wayl

Sivakasi: Would you like to know the status of your house and water tax payments? Or would you like to register your grievances related to streetlights and supply of drinking water?

Take your mobile and send a short messaging service (SMS) to the civic body and you will get the particulars you want. This facility is available in Virudhunagar municipality.

The municipal administration launched this service for its residents in Sivakasi on Tuesday. Through this service, taxpayers can get the details pertaining to their house, water, professional taxes and `non-tax.' (The non-tax category is for those who have rented places belonging to the municipality).

How to apply

All that the residents have to do is just type `HT' in case of house tax, `WT' in case of water tax, `PT' for professional tax and `NT' for non-tax, leave a space and then type the individual assessment number and send the SMS to 9965504562 to get a reply immediately.

"This is a very innovative project. Such a facility is unique and implemented for the first time in the State. The software for this project has been developed by a private company. It was initiated considering the hardship public undergo every day," said Karthik Karikolraj, Chairperson of the Municipality.

To register grievances, the public should type `GRV,' leave a space and then type the grievance and send the message to the same number. A ticket number is created immediately and sent back to the mobile. For future references, people should type GRV, leave a space and type the ticket number to know about the status of their grievances, said S. Balakrishnan, Assistant Programmer of the municipality.

"Since grievance redressal is a round-the-clock process, the facility is waiting for approval from the Government. But it will soon be cleared," Ms. Karthik hoped.

The municipal administration will create a database carrying mobile numbers of taxpayers and use this facility for announcements on disruption of drinking water supply. Besides, the facility will also be used for official purposes to inform the superiors about the collection details.

The administration has plans to encourage the public to register births and deaths using this facility.

Once it proves successful, the day is not far off when other municipalities follow suit.