The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is making OTP-based mobile authentication compulsory for renewal, issuance as well as cancellation of trade licenses. The KMC introduced online services for trade licenses in September 2020.
“It has been noticed that prior to the introduction of the online system, when physical processes existed, details of enlistment certificates of employees were known to the owners. There have been instances when owners have provided wrong information for cancelling the trade license of employees for personal grudge so we are making OTP-based mobile authentication for trade licenses mandatory,” a senior KMC official said.
Presently, the total number of business persons having trade license of KMC is around 7 lakh. Among them, around 4.5 lakh had done their trade license in offline mode.
In the current system, while applying or renewing or cancelling a trade license, the concerned person has to make mobile number authentication through OTP and only then will the process be initiated.
The official said that the civic body has taken this issue very seriously and recently an FIR was lodged with New Market Police Station for cancellation of the trade license of an individual by entering false information against him.
Apart from online trade license, the KMC presently offers a slew of services in online mode that includes mutation, building plan sanction, water connection, among others. The introduction of an online system was necessitated in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic. As people’s movement became restricted during Covid, online services proved to be of immense
help to the citizens.