PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 11 -- Despite spending lakhs to launch a new portal, the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation's (PMC) system has developed errors in updating water and sewer payments. Residents who have already cleared their dues for 2024-25 are still being shown as defaulters on the portal, leading to confusion. The portal-developed under the Prayagraj Smart City Limited initiative-was meant to make it easier for citizens to view and pay property, water, and sewer bills online. However, the system's persistent glitches have turned it into a source of inconvenience. Many residents are now receiving arrear notices for payments they have already made, raising questions about the reliability and oversight of the expensive digital project. It may be mentioned that the PMC had, for the convenience of the city's homeowners, created a new portal in collaboration with the Prayagraj Smart City Limited, aimed to provide accurate house tax, water, and sewer bills. However, the hi-tech venture, instead of easing the tax payment facility, has on the contrary posed difficulties. Sixty families living in the Pushp Ganga Exotica Resident Welfare Society in Sulemsarai have been running from pillar to post for the last eight months trying to get their bills corrected on the portal. Jalkal officials are assuring everyone that the bills will be rectified. Despite the society members having submitted their bills for the financial year 2024-25 at a camp, the portal has not been updated yet. Similarly, hundreds of homeowners in areas like Allahpur, Rajrooppur, and others are also waiting patiently for their water and sewer tax bills to be rectified. Chief tax assessment officer of PMC PK Mishra said that a technical glitch in the portal was posing hurdles in updating bills. Experts are working on rectification of the error in the portal. Another municipal official stated that a possibility for the error could be due to the issuing of a combined house tax along with water and sewer tax bill on the portal. However, due to the technical glitch in the Corporation's new portal, house owners had been deprived of the 10% discount on their water and sewer bills for the current financial year. Those who paid their bills for the previous financial year and remained defaulters on the portal were unable to pay this year's bills. The deadline for the 10% discount ended on October 31. In view of the same, house owners as well as corporators of PMC have demanded extension of the deadline for the 10% discount on tax bills....