From January, Municipal Corporation of Delhi will be on Facebook

After the Delhi traffic police page on Facebook became a hit, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is also planning to set up a similar page on the popular social networking website.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is all set to start operating on Facebook from January, giving a special focus on monitoring garbage removal in the national capital.

"The page will be aimed at monitoring cleanliness and garbage removal in the city. The citizens can also interact with us. They can upload pictures, videos or file a complaint about sanitation condition in their area which will then be addressed fast," MCD additional commissioner (Engineering) Anshu Prakash said today.

He said the Facebook page will become active from the first week of January. The permission for this has already been given by the municipal commissioner.

There are a total of 2,500 garbage dumping sites in the areas under MCD's jurisdiction and their locations will be listed on the page. People can register their complaints and suggestions online. Officials said NGOs will also be approached for their cooperation and they may also contribute in making the capital cleaner.

Out of the MCD's 12 zones, sanitation has been privatised in eight. The private agencies responsible for these areas will have to take action on complaints posted on the site.

Officials said the move will help the civic body interact with citizens in a better way and ensure transparency. The Facebook page will help fix accountability and responsibility, they said.

The Delhi traffice police also has a page on the social networking site in which citizens place their complaints, queries or suggestions.

In order to monitor the page, the MCD is setting up a control room where one assistant engineer and a junior engineer will access it. A meeting was held in this regard yesterday, officials said.

If the experiment is successful, the civic body may later include more areas like public health and roads in the page.