BMC to introduce one-click option to file civic complaints

Citizens will be able to complain about all 187 civic services using the mobile app

Visiting ward offices or writing letters on clogged drains or garbage on roads will soon be a thing of the past. You will soon be able to complain about any of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s 187 services with one click. Citizens will be able to complain about potholes, garbage, pollution, dustbins, street lighting, unauthorised digging and even rat nuisance using MCGM’s mobile application.

At present, the facility is available on the civic body’s website www.mcgm.gov.in. It will soon be launched on the app under the ‘my complaints’ tab. Once a complaint is registered, it will be forwarded to the officer concerned. If appropriate action is not taken within a stipulated time, the matter will be taken up by senior officials.

For instance, if you complain about debris not being collected from your area, the engineer concerned will have to take action within two days, following which it will escalated to the chief engineer in seven days. If no action is taken within 26 days, the matter will be taken up by the municipal commissioner.

A senior civic official, who did not wish to be named, said, “Every complaint has been assigned a stipulated time frame. The system will make it transparent if an officer has deferred action.”

After shutting down the pothole-tracking website, BMC is also going to rely on the application to receive complaints on craters. As of now, the application is being used for renewal of licences and payment of water and property taxes, senior officials said.

Citizens can also use the application, available on android and iOS to report about trimming of trees, repair works for drains, walls, street lights, name plates on roads, illegal posters, encroachment, unauthorised food stalls among others. The service is expected to be launched soon.