Prior to the initiative, the meter readers of Vijayawada Municipal Corporation had to go to each connection for taking the readings from the meter. Then, bills were generated and issued bi-monthly. This process delayed the process of issuing of bills and collection by 3 to 4 months. With the implementation of spot billing by outsourcing it, the delay in issuing of bills and collection has been reduced.
Outsourcing the issuing of bills was implemented from Jan 2006. Due to implementation of spot billing, the delay in the issue of bills and collection has been reduced significantly. The bills were issued monthly. An additional charge of Rs. 12 per bill is charged to the customer, which covers the fees of the spot billing agency for issuing the bills, and e-seva centers for collection of the bills.

• Simplified the billing procedure
• Bill paying facilities made easy and accessible through e-seva counters
• The services of existing water meter readers were utilized for improving the collections thus increasing the revenues of the corporation.
• Less burden on the corporation for issuing the bills
• No additional costs for outsourcing as the corporation is recovering agency's fees from customers.

The initiative will be sustainable only if the process is managed efficiently with effective customer awareness campaigns and teamwork. There is no mention about the bill collection efficiency, which is very critical for sustainability. Can be replicated.

For further details, contact:

Mr. Gulzar, IAS
Municipal Commissioner,
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation