Water E-billing Important Step To Help Streamline Collection: SIDA Chairman

HYDERABAD : The Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority’s (SIDA) Chairman Engr Abdul Basit Soomro has said e-billing is an important step for streamlining the collection of aabyana (water bills) from the farmers.

In a statement issued here on Monday after a meeting of the authority’s officers, Soomro said unless the collection of aabyana was not digitized, no improvement in the revenue collection was possible.

He appreciated the efforts of the Area Water Boards (AWBs) which had created a software for the e-billing in 3 months.

The Chairman observed that collecting the database of the consumers was a challenge for the authority. However, he expressed hope that the Sindh Revenue Department would extend cooperation in that regard by providing details of the owners of the agricultural land.

Soomro said although the authority wanted to enhance the collection of revenue through the water bills, the funds required to run the authority were still far higher and could only be met with the government funding.

The General Manager Transition of SIDA Ghulam Mustafa Ujjar said the authority’s officers were in contact with their counterparts in Sindh Irrigation Department and the experts of Information Technology in Punjab IT Department to seek their support for digitization.

The General Manager Nara Canal AWB Muhammad Owais Mahar briefed that a software had been made which would generate the e-bills. But he said the authority needed data of the consumers and the revenue record to upgrade the software. He added that as soon as the authority receives the required information, the e-billing would start.

UrduPoint – 3rd Jan, 2023