• Provide a centralized interface for all citizen-related transactions
• Introduce transparency and accountability for all government functions
• Provide a decision support system for top management
• Improve efficiency and productivity in providing citizen services

Why Oracle?

KDMC selected Oracle based on reputation and technological maturity. "We also evaluated DB2 but selected Oracle Database and Oracle Application Server (OracleAS) for stability, performance, and sustainability," said Dhanraj Khamatkar commissioner of Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Reliability was a primary consideration as well. "We cannot afford downtime," Khamatakr said. "Because government data is more valuable than the infrastructure that processes or stores it, we invested in the most secure database "We selected Oracle because anything other than the best technology would compromise the quality of the services we  provide," Khamatkar continued. "KDMC today stands for transparency, accountability, and high standards for serving citizens. Ninety percent of the collections for our 120,000 water connections and 160,000 properties are being done through online ystems."

Increasing Revenue Collection

Following its 2002 implementation, KDMC set a water and tax dues collection target of US$1.33 million for November. At the end of the month, KDMC exceeded its goal, collecting US$1.88 million. Whether the corporation is collecting fees for property taxation, water consumption, engineering works management, accounting, budgets, food, trade licensing, or town planning, KDMC offers quick, efficient services to its citizens. The government agency has seen improved turnaround times, greater accountability, and more accurate collection and tracking. 

The new efficiencies delivered by the Oracle system have meant faster service all around. Basic services such as water bill payments, which typically took an hour to process, take minutes. Issuing a birth certificate, which required a minimum of 10 days, now takes 15 minutes. In addition, processes that involve physical verification on site have built-in mechanisms that automatically alert supervisors when site visits have been pending for more than two days. Oracle Reports and Oracle Forms allow the municipal commissioner to get a complete overview of the corporation through reports based on departmental activities, geographic areas, and complaint types--a comprehensive overview that was not possible with the previous system. Downtime, too, is a thing of the past. "We've been live for 17 months and haven't had a single incidence of unplanned downtime," Khamatkar said. "Since the day we started operations, we have rendered 58,506 types of services, collected 10,1064 water and tax bills, and redressed 28,130 complaints. "Approximately 400 to 500 citizens apply for various services and 50 to 60 citizens lodge complaints every day," he continued. "It is heartening that we are now able to deliver 90% of these services in the stipulated timeframe, and redress 80% of cases within a committed timeline. We are much better off than before, although I cannot give a percentage because we don't have past data for comparison." A staff of two manages the complete Oracle system in KDMC's data center at the Kalyan head office. The system is made up of two Sun E 450 servers running OracleAS and Oracle Database. KDMC uses OracleAS functionality for reporting, Java 2Enterprise Edition components, and Web cache. "Wipro Infotech Limited helped deploy the Oracle products and
software development was done by Oracle Certified Partner, ABM Knowledgeware Limited," said Subhash Patil, system manager for KDMC. "Their knowledge and expertise were crucial to the success of this implementation."

The e-governance initiatives at KDMC have been greatly appreciated and recognized by the state authorities, and the Government of Maharashtra has decided to replicate the initiatives
in 240 municipal bodies in state.  

Source: Oracle company: http://www.oracle.com/global/in/customers/customerref/KDMC.pdf