Bangalore One proves to be a damp squib

Bangalore One proves to be a damp squib
Deccan Herald

Even those services which the B1 centre is providing, have already received complaints from the customers.

It has been a month since Bangalore One came to Bangalore, but the residents are still in queue, waiting for public services it promised. The delightful package still remains half opened, with the centres only offering four out of the twenty services proposed at the time of its launch on April 2.

The B1 centre began with providing only three services, mainly collection of monthly bills of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Bescom and BSNL. Since then, it has added to its kitty only three services - collection of property tax of Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), collection of traffic fines and sale of new passport applications. Some high demand services like renewal of Learner’s Licence and BMP’s issue of Khata certificates, are yet to make an entry in the swanky air-conditioned centres.

And the services it does provide, come with complaints. According to a few customers who paid their Bescom bills at these centres, their payments were not acknowledged at Bescom and their power lines was cut. An employee of Jayanagar B1 accepted the mistake, but said it has since been ‘streamlined.’ “The payments were not recorded on the main server, because of which Bescom was ignorant about the transaction. We have streamlined the processes and now transactions are going on smoothly,” said the employee.

When contacted, Rajeev Chawla, Government’s Secretary for the e-Governance department responsible for the setting up of B1 centres, said the issue of birth and death certificates will be made available from May 5, while other services like Khata certificates and Khata extract will be provided within “four-five days”.


Terming the delay as “procedural”, he said all services will be made available within a month.

“However RTO services will take longer as there are some problems with the Reserve Bank of India regarding the same,” Mr Chawla said.