Already, the BMC administration has written letters to 500 cybercafes in the city, offering to enter into an agreement which would allow citizens to use the cafes for online payments.

There are 2.8 lakh homes in the city that pay property tax and water bills to the civic body. The idea of networking with cybercafes was mooted by Additional Municipal Commissioner Manu Kumar Srivastava for middle-class Mumbaiites who may wish to avail the convenience of online payments but do not have easy access to the Internet. Joint Municipal Commissioner (Improvements) V Radha said: “People have to travel a lot to visit the Citizens Facilitation Centres at the ward offices. And many times, these are crowded and cannot handle the large numbers of citizens wishing to use the online payment system.” In November last year, the BMC inaugurated its revamped civic portal—http://portal.mcgm.gov.in—that allows citizens to pay bills online through credit cards.

The civic administration is now awaiting responses from the cybercafe owners. Following scrutiny including police verification of the cybercafes’ credentials, agreements will be signed with the owners. “We will take a security deposit from the cybercafe owners for this scheme as they will be responsible for it,” Radha said.

Cybercafes offering the facility will display a BMC signboard. Cafe-owners or attendants will also assist citizens in logging on to the portal and making the online payments. Radha said the cybercafes would be permitted to charge a nominal fee for the use of the Internet and for printouts of receipts.

“Cybercafes in the city are anyway not doing great business, they are in a low phase,” Radha said. “Co-ordinating with the BMC in this initiative will help their businesses as well as aid the citizens.”

Meanwhile, the BMC is also working on making payments through cellphones possible. Radha said meetings were in process with the software consultants and various service providers. “Even cybercafes have limitations,” Radha said. “But every person in the city, even those in slums, has at least one mobile connection. Payments through cellphone can be made anytime, anywhere.”