BJP government’s Smart Raj project to take another six months to go online

The work of the BJP government’s ambitious Smart Raj Project will now be completed in July 2019. The state government has increased the dateline of the project two days before the poll day. Under the project, the works of D-category cities of the state will be completed in six months.

Under the Smart Raj Project, the digitization of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and the services related to the public are being done online and the Smart Raj Project is based on 22 modules under which work will be done to register online application of lease, road cutting and sewerage connection. Apart from this, the facility of online collection of tax and all type of fees, house tax, urban development tax and other lands related tax will be developed. 

The purpose of the project is that works and facilities related to the ULB like building plan approval, double accounting system, employees attendance, solid waste management, Public Service Guarantee Act, Right to Information, legal cases, birth-death-marriage registration, e-auction, lease demand letter, file tracking system will be done online. The state government had contracted the joint consortium of Fourth Dimension Solutions Limited, MARs Telecoms Systems and Ricoh India Limited for all urban bodies across the state and among them The Fourth Dimension Company was the leading company. Under the project’s term and conditions, this work should have been completed by August 2018. But the Fourth Dimension Company was unable to complete this task. In many cities, the work of the project is closed for six months. 

After the project was stopped, the state government had initiated action against the company. Meanwhile, the MARs company had proposed the state government that it would wind up the project. The state government has accepted the company’s proposal and has given it time till July 2019 to complete the project. The state government has conditionally extended the timeline of the project. Due to delays in the project, the state government will not make an additional payment to the company. 

If the company could not complete the work till July 2019, the state government would impose a penalty on it. Under the project, the works of 32 cities of A and B category, 43 cities of C category and 112 cities of D category will be completed. After completing the Smart Raj project, people will be able to submit UD tax online and apply for a building plan while sitting at their home. Similarly, the entire database of all the personnel working in urban bodies will be online.

THE EASE

Under the Project, the digitization of Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and the services related to the public are being done online and the Smart Raj Project is based on 22 modules under which work will be done to register online application of lease, road cutting and sewerage connection.