BMC logs on to global platform

Soon, Mumbai will be able to share lessons on civic issues with cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Sao Paulo and Bogota on a common virtual platform, reports Sayli Udas Mankikar.

Soon, Mumbai will be able to share lessons on civic issues with cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Sao Paulo and Bogota on a common virtual platform.

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Notes on issues such as education, fire safety, solid waste management, water supply and even issues of governance will be discussed and improved on the website www.cityindicators.org.

Mumbai will be the first city in India to sign up for the ‘Global City Indicators’ programme which helps cities with a population of over 1 lakh to measure, report and improve their performance for better quality of life.

The programme, initiated by the World Bank , expects city governments — in this case, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) — to update their performance annually online through specific methodologies, which makes it easy for comparison and improvement.

The city-matching indicator will enable cities to interact and share information or even discuss problems.

“We have agreed to sign up for the initiative as it is easy, will mean more transparency and also help us compare ourselves with other cities as the indicators will be drawn through similar methods,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner R.A. Rajeev, who after an interaction with a World Bank representative on Wednesday gave a nod to participate in it.

“A municipal employee will be trained to update the information,” said Rajeev. “Although the information floated online will not be double checked by anyone, the fact that it will be open to public scrutiny will improve governance.”