ABM Knowledgeware Bags MCGM's e-Governance Contract

ABM Knowledgeware has bagged a Rs 1.16 billion (116 crore) e-governance contract from MCGM. The company will be basically providing software and services’ support to the civic authority. The software support includes payroll and change management support that is customised to meet the typical operational requirements of Asia’s largest municipal organisation. This also includes materials management, finance, HR, plant maintenance, property taxes, licence fees, land allotment etc.

“The current contract is for five years until 2011 that basically includes change management, payroll and management of about 2,580 SAP licences,” says Govind Chauhan, GM–ABM Knowledgeware. The contract includes training of MCGM employees as well. Currently, the civic body employs about 1,20,000 individuals. The contract also includes getting the staff hands-on with regular software upgrades, functional processes, helping them with error rectifications, incorporating change requests, business rules, tariff structure and licence formalities introduced by MCGM from time to time.

ABM Knowledgeware will also be providing field level support like maintenance of the recently introduced payroll (1,20,000 employees covered), provident fund and pension (80,000 pensioners covered) solutions. There are plans to introduce an SRM (supply relationship management) solution that will make the entire tendering process electronic where the scrutiny will also be done electronically. The civic mammoth also handles property worth almost 2000 crore in Mumbai and maintenance of the real estate solution is also covered under the contract.

The service support includes maintenance of citizen portals and ward management that enables status check of various civic programmes being run for citizens. “This can be of immense help during disasters as information can be tracked on a ward-to-ward basis,” says Varghese Samuel, administration dept, ABM Knowledgeware. “It is yet premature to opine on the manpower to be allocated for this project.”

The consortium of SAP–ABM Knowledgeware–Siemens conducted the SAP ERP implementation at MCGM in the past. The project went live in April 2007.

“ABM Knowledgeware is ready with the mobile solution for MCGM that will enable payment of property taxes through mobile phones,” informs Chauhan.

Meanwhile, MCGM today announced that water and property bills payment could now be done through Sify’s 70 i-Way outlets and Itz Cash Card’s 300 outlets. Currently, it is only limited to water and property bills but subsequently other civic services will also be made available through these channels. Hitherto, these services were only available via 24 CFCs (Citizen Facilitation Centres) of MCGM.