Utility bills

The idea , of course , is to make the task of bill payment a lot easier for the people who have had to undergo the arduous process of queuing up and wasting valuable time for paying bills. Though telephone, water and electricity bills can be paid through banks , the existing arrangements require the subscribers to go to a bank to clear the bill for a particular service and keep on doing so until all the bills are paid. The most striking feature of the new plan will be the one-stop system of payment that will enable the subscribers to pay the bills at a time.

The government move deserves appreciation, though one has the feeling that had it been taken earlier, we would have by now seen it in operation. The plan to expand the facility to other cities is also based on a correct assessment of subscribers' needs.

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The subscribers will also have the option to pay the bills online through the ATM and credit cards. This is going to change things in a very perceptible way since the introduction of the latest mode of payment will considerably ease the subscribers' task. What is also very important here is that we have to introduce the electronic systems, which have long replaced the traditional ones in the developed countries. It is a question of not falling behind others.

The government has done what was expected of it. However , it is also necessary to look into other complaints of subscribers apart from the existing cumbersome mode of bill payment. It must not be forgotten that in certain cases the subscribers face trouble due to the irregularities in issuance of bills or the unusual delay in sending them to the subscribers.

The idea of one-stop bill clearance including introduction of electronic payment system is in keeping with management principles of the present era. Now, the government has to see to it that the new system does not fall short of its goal lessening the bill payers' woes. There should not be any glitch in the system.