Urban Development Department Govt of Karnataka MS Buildings, Ambedkar Veedhi Bangalore – 560 001

eGovernments Foundation 303 Ashok Terrace 100 Ft Road, Indiranagar,Bangalore – 560 038 Phone (080) 51255708 www.egovernments.org

Press Release - J u l y 1st    2 0 0 5

Govt of karnataka LAUNCHES THE CITY WEBSITES and citizen complaint tracking systEM DEVELOPED BY eGOVERNMENTS FOUNDATION

Honourable Minister for Municipal Affairs & KUIDFC, Govt of Karnataka Sri S.R. Morey will launch the City Websites and Citizen Complaint Tracking System for Mysore, Bijapur, Hassan, Udupi, Gokak, Mahadevapura and Raichur developed by eGovernments Foundation on July 1^st, 2005. in the presence of  Honourble Finance Minister, Govt. of India Sri P. Chidambaram , Honourable Chief Minister of Karnataka Sri Dharam Singh and Honourable Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Sri Siddaramaiah.

City Websites

As part of the Nirmala Nagara, Municipal eGovernance project, 57 of the largest cities in Karnataka are to get a comprehensive citizen-friendly website by Aug 15^th 2005(above 7 cities launch on July 1^st 2005) providing not only information but also transaction capabilities. The websites are designed to provide:

Ø City Financials

Ø City council and staff details

Ø Land use water and SWM Statistics

Ø Public Grievance and Redressal System

Ø Citizen friendly Pie charts and GIS Reports

Future Modules would include:

Ø Property Tax

Ø Financial Accounting

Ø Birth and Death Certification

Ø Ward Information System

Citizen Complaint Tracking System

The Pubic Grievance & Redressal module is a citizen friendly complaint registration and tracking system that functions over Internet, Phone and Paper form. Upon registration citizens get a ‘Complaint Tracking Number’ using which the status of the complaint can be checked over the internet or phone 7x24. This introduces transparency and accountability.

Salient features of the Complaint Tracking System are:

o Ability to register complaints over Internet, Phone,Paper-form and get a tracking number.

o Auto Routing of Complaints to the appropriate city administration official

o Rich reporting features which enable citizens and city officials to view complaint reports by department or wards delivered in user-friendly pie-charts and GIS reports

o Online access for the Redressal officer to update the complaint status

o Dialog between citizen and redressal officer, prioritization and SMS integration.

Upcoming Activities

This is the first launch of a series of applications that Urban Development Dept & eGovernments Foundation have been working on, for the 57 city Nirmala Nagara project. The key objective is to streamline municipal systems through Govt. process reengineering, better record keeping, through use of IT tools and technologies, which will in turn bring about transparency, accountability and the smoother delivery of services to the citizens of Karnataka. Over 2005-06, the following applications will be launched:

Ø eGov Property (Property Tax collection and reporting system)

Ø eGov Financials (Municipal Accounting system)

Ø eGov Birth (Birth/Death Registration system)

Ø eGov WIS (Wards Information System)

Urban Development Department

The Urban Development Department has taken up one of the most ambitious Municipal eGovernance projects in the country. This massive project overseen by the Director Municipal Administration includes GIS digital mapping of 3000 SqKms of urban area, improving property tax record keeping by filling out 70 Lakh property register forms for the estimated 25 lakh properties of the 57 ULBs. Large scale capacity building and training was conducted for 57 commissioners, 1200 revenue officers, 900 engineers and thousands of other ULB staff.

eGovernments Foundation (www.egovernments.org)

eGovernments Foundation's mission is to provide an Municipal IT Software System for use in Cities/Towns all across India - for Free.  The Foundation is a registered not-for-profit trust that aims to improve Governance in India through effective use of technologies and Govt. Processes Reengineering. Started by Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani and Silicon Valley Technologist Srikanth Nadhamuni, the eGovernments Foundation has developed an Enterprise class Municipal eGovernance Platform that can used by cities throughout the country. eGovernments Foundation currently works in Karnataka, Delhi and W.Bengal.

Contact:

Urban Development Department Director Municipal Administration Contact: Krishne Gowda 080-22867307 Joint Director Municipal Administration Vinay Vijaydev 080-22867307 IT Staff, DMA

eGovernments Foundation Contact : Krishna Rupanagunta Chief Operating Officer 080-51255708 www.egovernments.org