How does a municipality improve services for citizens and boost its revenues at the same time? CMC shows the way

The VOICE project with the Vijaywada Municipal Corporation was adjudged the first runner-up in the best eGovernance projects category at the prestegious CSI-Nihilent eGovernance Awards 2003-04 held at Pune on June 14, 2004.

The project was conceptualised and executed by CMC in 1998-99, and is currently being managed by the Municipal Corporation staff after taking over from CMC in 2002.

The product
VOICE: Versatile Online Information for Citizen Empowerment
An extensive IT tool to bridge the gap between the common citizen and the municipality

The client
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation
The civic administration body of Andhra Pradesh's second-largest city

The Vijaywada Municipal Corporation in Andhra Pradesh took on the challenge of providing various civic services more efficiently, in order to improve the daily lives of the people in the city. IT tools have played a very important role in helping VMC achieve the timely and effective delivery of its services.

Project details
CMC's VOICE (Versatile Online Information for Citizen Empowerment) is a state-of-the-art information technology e-Governance solution for local governments to deliver a host of civic services online, and bridge the gap between the common citizen and the local body.

It provides single-window services, from online payment of municipal dues, issue of trade licenses, building permissions, and birth and death certificates. Day-to-day operations are computerised, improving operational efficiency. VOICE also provides a powerful community information network providing procedural and general-purpose information useful for the citizens.

Citizens can directly interact with civic officials by registering grievances and suggestions relating to infrastructure planning and monitoring their status. In addition, they can check the status of various applications, payments and on-going works. Budgetary support information can be obtained on demand.

All these transparency measures have helped achieve a high degree of accountability, responsiveness and transparency in the civic administration. For those who do not have internet access, these facilities are extended through public kiosks. This project is the first of its kind in India.

Its main components are an intranet, a web and proxy server, an application server, client workstations and information kiosks.

Technical architecture
A client-server based application with a single centralised database for data capture, a web interface for dynamic information dissemination and registration of complaints by citizens and an executive MIS.

Benefits
VOICE with customisation would meet the operational needs of most municipalities in India. The customisation effort is relatively significant here, even though VOICE meets their core functional needs. Some of the core functions and operating styles of municipalities vary from state to state, as they are guided by their local municipal acts.