The Times of India            28.05.2013

Civic body to receive citizen's plaints with professional help

VADODARA: A polite voice saying 'How may I help you' may greet you the next time you make a call for making a complaint regarding a civic problem. Much like telecom operators or banks, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is planning to start a helpline to address citizens' complaints by roping in a call centre with trained employees.

Much like other help lines, the VMC will have a dedicated complaint number with 10 lines so that multiple calls can be handled at the same time. The system will also shoot text messages and emails to officials who have the responsibility of attending to the problem. Immediate seniors of the officer will also be given alerts regarding the issue.

Besides the SMS and email, the officers will also have access to the module on their computers and they can access details of complaints pertaining to their functions or jurisdiction. "Once the complaint is resolved, the citizen will also get a message regarding it," said VMC director (projects) C M Makwana.

The new system will also ensure that the officials remain on their toes. The system has a provision for escalation of the alert in the VMC hierarchy in the problem is not resolved within a stipulated period of time. If a complaint is not taken care of, the system will shoot messages and mails to higher officials. Like the once in the lower rungs, the senior officials will also be able to monitor complaints online on their systems.

VMC director (IT) Manish Bhatt said that once implemented the system will ensure that citizens do not have to go to the ward office for their complaints. "The system will also have a provision where the complaints can be made on the website online by those who use internet. It is an attempt to bring in professionalism in the functioning of the civic body and to become citizen friendly," he added.

The employees of the agency that has been given the contract for the system have been trained keeping in mind the civic body's functioning. They have been given in depth knowledge about the organisation structure and functions in the civic body. The system is likely to be formally launched in about a week's time and testing has already been done. The contact details will formally be announced at the time of the launch.