Citizens are not fully aware of disaster management applications and helpline numbers, they seek to have a say in the budget allocations, they demand more citizen-friendly civic staff and want the civic body to focus more on public sanitation and health sector. These were some of the findings of a survey carried out by the students of St Xavier's College. The survey was conducted to find out how aware people were of budget allocation and civic governance.
Citizens are not fully aware of disaster management applications and helpline numbers, they seek to have a say in the budget allocations, they demand more citizen-friendly civic staff and want the civic body to focus more on public sanitation and health sector. These were some of the findings of a survey carried out by the students of St Xavier's College. The survey was conducted to find out how aware people were of budget allocation and civic governance.
Around 64% of the respondents demanded citizen-friendly and approachable civic staff. And, shockingly, only 35% knew about the annual budget of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). While 29% demanded improvement in sanitation, 21% raised concerns about the health sector and just 1% picked up issues related to roads and transport systems in the city.
The survey also suggested that the civic body publicise its awareness activities, such as helpline numbers and disaster management applications, as only 9% of those surveyed were aware of such things. The survey, however, found out that there was a good number of citizens who were aware of BMC's waste segregation initiative.
The survey was conducted throughout the city, covering bus stands, railway stations, colleges, public gardens, corporate offices and residential areas. A team of 10 students conducted this survey of 2,000 people, each student contributing to surveying about 200 people. There were about 13 questions asked by the students, who have also listed about 11 suggestions of the citizens in their report. The professor in-charge of this survey and also a nominated corporator of BMC, Avkash Jadhav, would be submitting the survey report to additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee.
Jadhav said, "The survey suggests that many facilities of the BMC need promotion so that people can access them and avail themselves of the intended benefits. It is also important that people know about the Nirbhaya centers, which are there specifically for women in distress, as hardly 25% of citizens know about them. People are not aware of the budget of the civic body. If they are made aware of it and are allowed to actively participate in the allocation of funds for various amenities, they would feel empowered."
Without wishing to be named, a civic official from the disaster management department said, "We do want public awareness of various initiatives taken by us. If the level of public awareness is really low, then we will have to publicise our initiatives even more."
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