The Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA), Telangana has launched a dedicated WhatsApp channel to ease the process of tax payment for citizens across the region. In a statement, the CDMA says the ‘CDMA, Telangana Property Tax Module’ WhatsApp chatbox is free-to-use and function as a source for up-to-date information about tax dues. The development essentially means that residents of Telegana can substitute visits to the Municipal office, enabling contactless procurement of information right on the smartphone during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The WhatsApp-based service is also expected to boost Tax collections “significantly.”
Speaking more over the development, KT Rama Rao, Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development of Telangana said that a sizeable number of citizens are still paying their taxes through POS machines or citizen service centres. “In line with our Digital Telangana Initiatives, we have introduced a citizen service on WhatsApp that has already yielded positive results and feedback. We will continue to add more services on CDMA’s WhatsApp chatbot to ensure these services remain resourceful to citizens,” the state minister added in a statement to News18.
Head of policy at WhatsApp India, Shivnath Thukral also lauded the development and said, “We’re delighted to partner with CDMA, Telangana and support their efforts to promote a Digital India through impactful Government to Citizen (G2C) services on WhatsApp.” To use the ‘CDMA, Telangana Property Tax Module,’ citizens will first need to save the contact +91 9000253342 on their smartphone and then send “Hi” via WhatsApp. The chatbot is currently available in English and Telugu, with CDMA working to add Urdu as an additional language soon.
The CDMA notes that residents with the chatbot can access services to pay their taxes conveniently via a debit card, credit card or internet banking. The department is also working towards leveraging WhatsApp to roll out services that will aid payment of water bills, and other day-to-day municipality services like applying for birth and death certificates, grievances, enabling a water connection, building permissions, trade licenses, and more. The WhatsApp-based channel will provide citizens with all the information they need as well as a direct link to apply online for those services. The CDMA Telangana will aim to include critical information on COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Telangana on the account at an appropriate juncture.
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