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Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas gets talking about five things that MCGM has to offer to Mumbaikars

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Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas with the trustees of V Citizens Network
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Additional Municipal Commissioner SVR Srinivas recently participated in TogetherVCAN’s Online Social Sanchar. Of the various things discussed, Srinivas talks in depth about five things that MCGM wants to resolve for Mumbaikars.

1. FSI violations
Lately, there have been several cases of FSI violation and unauthorised construction. In order to tackle this, we have decentralised it at the ward level. This makes it easy for people to lodge complaints regarding FSI violation in their neighbourhood directly at the ward level. This enables designated officers to look into the matter with specificity.  

2. Parking woes
Mumbai, as we all know, has major illegal parking issues. I’d like to tell the citizens that roads are first meant for the pedestrians, so illegal parking will not be tolerated and action will be taken for the same. It is on my agenda to make the roads free of illegal parking. In fact, I have started cracking on it at several roads in SoBo, including the Mahapalika Marg.  

3. Documents management system
I am planning to launch a system that will make even RTI redundant. It involves documents getting scanned, digitised, tagged and uploaded to the cloud. So, any citizen who wants to access, read and download documents pertaining to the corporation can do so by simply logging in. The significant aspect is that these documents and all information can be downloaded. The procedure has started already and it will take around three years for completion.

4. Road safety    
In a global competition conducted by Bloomberg Philanthropies, a New York-based foundation, BMC emerged as one of the winning cities. With this foundation, Mumbai will see major road safety initiatives in three spectrums—driving, road design and general awareness. Assistance from various NGOs and citizens would be greatly appreciated for this.

5. MCGM app
We have come up with a mobile app called MCGM 24x7 on Android and iOS, which will help the citizens considerably. This app enables you to pay your water bill, property tax and renewal licenses. Thus, instead of going to the ward and waiting in long queues, you can do your work using the app. Users will also get payment receipts, which are printable. The app is still in its initial stage and within a few months, it will enable people to file complaints as well for which they will receive a unique complaint number.

Action leads to resolution 
Of the various complaints and queries addressed by Srinivas, one problem stood out from the rest. A resident of C-ward named Nicholas Fernandes, who is a senior citizen, put forward a grave complaint. The building he stays in is about 80 years old and hence the drainage system is built inside the building. When the MCGM cleaning staff comes to the locality, they refuse to clean and maintain the drainage system saying that since the system is inside the building, they are not liable to clean it. As a result, the drainage overflows. The staff won’t clean it unless they are paid extra. Due to the overflowing drains, residents have been falling ill. The issue was addressed by Srinivas in less than 24 hours and the work has started already.  

Together V can
Indrani Malkani, trustee with V Citizens Action Network explains ‘Social Sanchar’...
The trust ‘V Citizens Action Network’ works towards interacting with the government with the principle of partnering with it. We bring to you information and interaction, and we work in various fields and not just with the BMC but also with the Election Commission of India. In last August, our interactive citizen portal was launched by the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. Our initiative ‘Social Sanchar’ is a unique concept as it enables everyone to participate in it, without being physically present for it. It is streamed live online, so citizens from any corner of the city can log in and interact with the the government officials via Skype, twitter, Google Hangouts, SMS, etc. The idea is to enable the citizens to interact with the government from wherever they are located. The Video Technology Product AB-Live L2 is used for this; it has been especially developed by our video technology partner, April Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. and it is one-of-its-kind! Lastly, it helps cut down the traffic as citizens don’t have to commute for it.


TogetherVCAN’s Online Social Sanchar is a one-of-its-kind initiative, launched for the first time in India.

 

pooja.patel@dnaindia.net
 

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