Namma Chennai Smart Cards to be available at e-seva centres

A day after Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami launched Namma Chennai Smart Card, a Greater Chennai Corporation official said the cards will be available at e-seva centers across the city.

“The Namma Chennai Smart Card can be used to pay for the several services provided by the Chennai Corporation, such as cycle sharing, parking charges and payment of property tax,” the official explained.

The civic body launched the smart card to integrate various payments to avail its services in a move to make the transactions easier.

As per the official, residents can get the cards at e-seva centres by paying Rs 100 along with photocopies of valid identity proofs. The smart cards will be activated in two days. The cards are supported by RuPay.

Residents can recharge their card up to a limit of Rs 10,000. “Service charges will be levied for using the cards in point of sale (POS) devices. For transactions less than Rs 1,000, a service of charge of 0.65 per cent will be collected. For transactions between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000, charges will be 0.90 per cent. As much as 1.40 per cent service charge will be levied for transactions greater than Rs 2,000,” the official said.

The official hinted that offers would be announced for the transactions done using the smart cards in future.

On the other hand, field officials are sceptical about the success of the Namma Chennai Smart Card initiative. “For property tax collection, we have to visit the property owners several times. Most of the property tax payers would not use the cards by paying money in advance,” an assistant revenue officer said.

The official opined that residents would only use the cards if the civic body provides discounts or other offers.

It may be noted that the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has launched similar kinds of cards using which the passengers get services related to the Metro Rail.