New Delhi: Connecting with civic authorities on WhatsApp is becoming a way of life for millions of Indians. From accessing essential services, getting birth and death certificates, door-to-door garbage collection to registering complaints, citizen services across several states are now available with the touch of a button on WhatsApp. Going digital, with the simplicity of WhatsApp, has improved efficiencies for Municipal Corporations by reducing the time to address grievances and led to an increased real-time engagement with citizens. This truly powers the vision of Digital India by making governance accessible to all.
Talking about WhatsApp’s continuous endeavour to support getting digital governance solutions closer to citizens across the country, Ravi Garg, Director Business Messaging, India – Meta said, “We are excited about working together with administrations across the country to help them empower and enable citizens with digital access to easy governance solutions on WhatsApp, in turn, making governance more inclusive. Citizens can now access services from right within their WhatsApp, at their own convenience, instead of visiting local offices or waiting in long queues. This technology-led citizen engagement is tremendously helping administrations improve their response time and we are delighted with the ease and convenience this brings to our users’ lives.”
Built on the WhatsApp Business Platform, citizens across India can now connect with their city Municipal Corporations in an easy and convenient manner at the touch of their WhatsApp.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation has launched a citizen-friendly WhatsApp chatbot to enable quick resolution of grievances. Besides, through this chatbot, Kolkata citizens get real-time updates on Property Tax information like the status of property mutation, enlistment of certificates, and links to various other civic services, including the facility to chat with the Mayor directly.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation launched the MyBMC Assist chatbot on WhatsApp. It provides assistance to citizens on a range of different solutions like applying for marriage certificates, accessing birth and death certificates, renewal of licences, etc. For contact during emergencies, the chatbot also provides a speed dial number 1916.
Pune Municipal Corporation has launched its virtual assistant to keep Pune residents updated on PMC schemes such as Women Child Welfare Scheme, Women Empowerment Scheme, Youth Welfare Scheme, etc. The service aims to resolve citizen grievances across a wide-ranging requirements like waste collection, upkeep of public toilets, clearing – sewage accumulation, construction debris or littering in public places, and waste-burning. The WhatsApp chatbot also helps to provide certificates and NOCs to the citizens, as per their requirements.
Patna Municipal Corporation has launched a WhatsApp chatbot that helps to provide quick and authentic information and general assistance to the public. Citizens can use it to track their vehicles, generate requests for property assessment, Property Identity Number (PID) based payments, etc. Citizens can also register their grievances on other civic issues of garbage dumps, street lights not working, water leakages, etc.
Amdavad Municipal Corporation has launched its comprehensive complaint redressal system chat service on WhatsApp that gives citizens multiple options for – complaint registration, quick registrations, re-opening complaints, and knowing their status. The chatbot also enables access to easy payment for property tax bills.
Kurnool Municipal Corporation is the first Urban Local Body (ULB) in Andhra Pradesh to launch a WhatsApp chatbot that enables citizens to get prompt and easy assistance on a range of services like addressing public grievances, tax payments, sharing feedback and suggestions, and a means to know their Secretariat better, all within a WhatsApp chat thread.
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