Soon, pay taxes via Namma Chennai app

Launched in January this year, the Namma Chennai app was designed primarily for grievance redressal, to make it easy for the residents to lodge their complaints. The Greater Chennai Corporation – which is the oldest Corporation in the country – was the first to shift its services online. 

Now, with the Namma Chennai app, the civic body is planning to notch up its performance in the digital arena. 

The bilingual app, an initiative of the Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL), is planning to integrate an array of services into its fold, including payment of property tax and other taxes. A Corporation official said that to begin with, ‘view and download’ services were introduced in the app. 

“Earlier, Namma Chennai was basically a grievance redressal app but now, we have introduced services, where you can view or download birth certificate or death certificate. Over the next few months, digital payment will be integrated, to ensure that people can pay their taxes online,” said the official. 

Currently, the Namma Chennai app can also be used to track collection status of property tax and professional tax and also download receipts. Trade license status and receipt can also be accessed via the app. 

According to the Corporation, the app (available in iOS and Android platforms) has been downloaded more than 30,000 times and around 4,000 complaints have been registered. Once the app is updated, Chennaiites can pay their taxes through their mobiles and not necessarily depend on the official website or head to the zonal offices or other centres to remit the amount. 

“Under the Smart City aegis, the Corporation is promoting digital transactions, and  enabling payments of taxes through the app is a step in that direction,” said the official.  Sources said that a Smart Card by the Corporation to digitally pay not only property and water tax but also for other civic amenities is also in the works.

The civic body had partnered with ICICI Bank for the execution of the project, by installing Point-ofSale (POS) machines at government offices such as Aavin Parlours and other agencies. A senior Corporation official said that a roadmap is being prepared. 

“However, it will take time because we are still discussing on the minutiae of the project,” added the senior official.