Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has offered the state's municipal corporations a suggestion on improving tax collections - short messaging service (SMS).

In a meeting with commissioners of seven municipal corporations and urban development authorities Thursday, Modi said that text messages from the mobile phone can be used to increase awareness among citizens about taxes.

According to him, the use of SMS can lead to efficient tax collection and improve the services of the civic bodies.

Officials said Modi's suggestion was on the lines of how mobile service providers use the SMS to remind clients about bills.

Gujarat has declared 2005 as the year of urban development. The quarterly progress of government departments was reviewed at the meeting.

Modi also suggested the launching of an e-magazine by corporations to provide information about civic services to people in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Junagadh.

The chief minister said he would conduct a "tour" of the cities through video-conferencing later this year to review development in slums.