Now Tax Collection in Gram Panchayats is Done via UPI
Raipur, May 12, 2025 / The Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh has emerged as a new example. It has become the first district in the state where taxes and fees in gram panchayats are now being paid digitally, i.e., through UPI. Payments such as property tax, market fee, water tax, and sanitation tax are now being easily made by villagers from their mobile phones.
By bringing the digital payment system to the villages, the Raigarh district has given a new direction to the rural governance system. UPI-based tax collection has been implemented in all 549 gram panchayats of the district. UPI QR codes have been installed in Panchayat buildings and public places, enabling villagers to pay their taxes from home.
This system has not only promoted transparency but has also significantly increased the income of the panchayats. The then Collector, Mr. Goyal, gave a detailed presentation of this innovation model before the Prime Minister’s Award Screening Committee on March 12, 2025. He stated that tax collection through the UPI system has increased by 117 percent compared to the previous financial year. In many panchayats, tax collection has more than doubled. While villagers previously faced difficulties in making manual payments, they are now able to make payments easily from their mobile phones.
Out of the 07 blocks in Raigarh district, 05 are tribal-dominated, and this digital payment system has been implemented here as well. A special feature is that 330 PVTG Birhor families have also started paying taxes through UPI, which is considered a major achievement towards digital inclusion. After the implementation of the UPI system, people’s participation in Gram Sabhas has also increased. An analysis conducted in three panchayats revealed that people’s attendance in Gram Sabhas has increased by up to 57 percent. This clearly shows that villagers are now taking more interest in the panchayat system.
Transactions made by women self-help groups and BC Sakhis are also continuously increasing. While transactions worth Rs 3969.30 lakh were made in the year 2022-23, it increased to Rs 4236.50 lakh in 2023-24 and reached Rs 4650.80 lakh by the end of February in the year 2025.
This initiative has also greatly facilitated account maintenance, audit process, and cash ledger reconciliation in Gram Panchayats. With a digital record of every transaction available, the financial system has become more transparent and streamlined. This initiative of Raigarh district has now become a role model for the entire Chhattisgarh. Successfully implementing the idea of Digital India, Raigarh district has today become a symbol of digital panchayat governance.
Chief Executive Officer of Zila Panchayat, Shri Jitendra Yadav, said that digital payment collection was started on a large scale in the panchayats of the district under the guidance of Finance Minister Shri O.P. Choudhary and the then Collector Shri Kartikeya Goyal. People were made aware. Taxes are being collected through QR codes by linking the accounts of the panchayats with UPI. At present, under the leadership of Collector Shri Mayank Chaturvedi, work is being done for digital tax collection in 100% of the panchayats of the district.