Sources say that all smaller issues which initially were discussed during LACC meetings now get resolved on the Whatsapp group itself.
While most activists remain at loggerheads with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over their civic complaints not being resolved, a Local Area Citizen Committee (LACC) from Dahisar has decided to lead the civic body by example.
To reduce the waiting period for the issues to be resolved, the LACC for ward number 1 in Dahisar have launched a WhatsApp group, which has as its members not only the activists from Ward 1 but also BMC officials from the R-North ward office, including the assistant municipal commissioner. According to sources, since the group's launch in March, almost all smaller issues, which earlier used to be discussed during the LACC meeting, get resolved on the group itself. Only bigger developmental issues and plans are now discussed during the meetings.
According to LACC convenor Harish Pandey, theirs is one of the very few wards across Mumbai where regular LACC meetings are held to resolve the citizens' complaints. "We meet every first and third Saturday of the month, along with the BMC officials from various departments. Every LACC member brings a task slip, which lists the issues. It is handed over to the BMC official concerned."
"We, however, realised that for some complaints to get resolved, activists had to wait for almost 14 days or more," added Pandey. That is when the decision to launch the Whatsapp group was taken.
Activists from the area said they were extremely happy that civic officials agreed to be a part of the initiative. "It's a quick way to highlight day-to-day problems, such as water leakage, missing manhole covers, debris dumping and other issues. Problems are resolved quickly and one need not run around, make several phone calls or write letters. Now, we simply take a picture and put details on the group. The BMC officials then take prompt action," said Shrikanth Mududi, a resident of Kanderpada, Dahisar (W), who recently posted about debris being left near Dahisar RTO, which was cleared the same day itself.
Pandey further said they have decided to not allow any political leaders or elected representatives in the group, as they only wanted to interact with the BMC officials. "Citizens need to push authorities for better governance. With so much technology available, one need not run around with complaint letters. The group has responsible citizen activists, who raise valid and relevant issues. That is the reason even BMC officials, including the ward officer, have been extremely positive," said DA Kossambe, a resident of IC Colony.
Meanwhile, Vijay Kamble, assistant municipal commissioner for R North ward, agreed that the basic issues were now getting resolved at a quicker pace. "It's, in a way, good that citizen activists have a way of directly interacting with the BMC and informing us about these issues," he said.
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