Even as the rest of the world surges ahead in terms of using the internet to ‘govern’ the city, the so-called IT capital of India is found lagging on this front.
Even as Bangalore city grapples with waste management in the city, the London Municipal corporation is consulting the public through a survey that tries to understand the community perspective on the Mayor’s vision “for London to become a world leader in municipal waste management, utilising innovative techniques and technologies to minimise the climate change impact of municipal waste and to fully exploit its massive economic value.” The survey asks the citizens what they think should be the top priorities of the citizens with regard to fulfilling this vision.
Officially named as Bangalore’s twin city, San Francisco’s problems with parking are also addressed proactively. Its website not only has an option for the residents to pay parking tickets online, but also gives them tips on what to keep in mind before parking a vehicle so as to avoid a parking ticket. While Bangalore is filled with defective parking signboards, the San Francisco municipal corporation has a number on the website where citizens can call to report defective signboards.
Even as the rest of the world surges ahead in terms of using the internet to ‘govern’ the city, the so-called IT capital of India is found lagging on this front.
San Francisco’s civic website regularly plays a role as a medium in calling for public meetings between residents of a particular area and the officials to discuss issues of public concern before any official decision is taken. The minutes and the topics of discussion are then posted on it for those unable to attend these meeting to follow closely and send in their opinions. All this happens before any official decision is taken on any civic project that could impact the routine lives of the citizenry.
Juxtapose that with what Koramangala residents had to experience recently. They alleged that Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has been going forward with underpass and fly over construction without conducting a prior traffic survey and has been ignoring their opinions on what they think will help.
“Although there are two components to governance - providing service and engaging citizens - our civic agencies’ focus lies on internal capacities and on providing services,” says Swati Ramanathan of Janaagraha.
“BBMP’s website is very poor when it comes to giving an opportunity to citizens to participate or voice opinions. Except for a basic complaint management system, there is absolutely no facility for online polls, petitions or referenda to take opinions of citizens,” says Srikanth Vishwanathan, manager, Public Record of Operation and Finance, Janaagraha.
Forget discussing plans with citizens who will be affected, the BBMP does not even have a mechanism for feedback or satisfaction survey, he adds.
E-governance needs to put citizens at its heart; not just as recipients of services but as participants in governance, says Vishwanathan.
While basic facilities in BBMP need improvement, services of other public service units do not fare much better.
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for instance hardly ever updates its website. Clicking on ‘e-tenders’ or ‘general tenders’ will give this reply: “No tenders available”. The official contact list of the BMTC was updated on Monday, almost a week after officers were transferred.
“We do have miles to go,” says T Prabhakara, project director, capacity building, Centre for e-Governance. “However we have made a start. e- Procurement is catching on, there are at least a few details on the website and I think municipal corporations are doing a good job. We cannot compare our city with international cities. Just look at our population.”
Then, does Bangalore really deserve being tagged as the IT Capital of India?
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