Bhubaneswar: In a bid to facilitate easy payment of electricity bills at the Gram Panchayat level, the Odisha Government in collaboration with Tata Power Ltd launched a portal named GCMS (Government Consumer Management System) and mobile application.
The Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department in collaboration with the SIC, Bhubaneswar, and Tata Power Company Limited, has developed the portal.
The GCMS portal was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo, while the accompanying Mobile App was launched by Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Minister Rabi Narayan Naik. During the event, Singh Deo expressed his gratitude to the Panchayatiraj and Drinking Water Department, NIC, and Tata Power for their collective efforts.
The initiative aims to provide uninterrupted road lighting and drinking water supply facilities to rural areas, with a focus on transparency and accountability. Annually, approximately Rs 250 crore is spent on electricity tariffs across all gram panchayats in the state. However, delayed payments and the lack of a streamlined monitoring system have led to arrears in electricity bills.
The GCMS portal, developed by Tata Power Odisha Discom in partnership with the Panchayati Raj Department of Government of India, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department of Government of Odisha, and the National Technology Center (NIC), seeks to address these challenges. Integrated with the e-Gram-Swaraj online platform, the portal enables Panchayats to easily access, approve, and pay electricity bills within a day, using a secure OTP system.
The application has undergone successful testing in Dhauli, Dakkua, and Bhirshal village panchayats of Bhubaneswar block in Khurda district, garnering appreciation from stakeholders.
