The Indian Express           30.10.2013

RMC to publish its annual reports

For the first time in the last 13 years, Rajkot Municipal Corporation
(RMC) is all set to publish its annual report, giving an account of
administrative initiatives and achievements of the civic body as well as
making data available for future planning. Top civic officials on
Friday finalised the draft report of RMC covering years from 2,000
onwards. The report runs into more than 200 pages. It gives accounts of
activities and initiatives taken by 44 departments and branches of the
civic body in the last 13 years. Civic officials said the report had
been sent for printing and copies were likely to be available by the
second week of November.

“Being a public body, the RMC tends to have a weak institutional
memory. Some information about its dealing with outside agencies would
be privy to certain officers and it gets lost with their transfer or
departure from RMC. The annual administrative report is an effort to
document such information, besides maintaining a record of the routine
activity of the civic body,” Municipal Commissioner Ajay Bhadu said on
Tuesday.

The commissioner further said that with the administrative
report, the civic body was also carrying out a census of RMC properties
for updating its inventory. “From this year onwards, the RMC would
compile its administrative report every year. Similarly, we shall also
present annual outcome budget giving comprehensive detail of important
projects. Like a corporate entity, our general budget will also have a
balance-sheet and profit and loss account,” said Bhadu. The RMC had
last published its annual report in 2000. Since then, the practice had
remained suspended, civic officials said.

The commissioner further said that the RMC would create Centre
for Documentation, Information and Learning (CDIL), a departmental setup
which would host archives of the civic body. The centre will come up on
Nana Mava road in coming years.

“In the form of annual reports, civic officials will have reference data
available to understand the requirements of different departments and
design future projects to meet them. The data will also help the RMC
formulate policies,” the commissioner added. He said that the public
relations department of the civic body would handle the responsibility
of compiling the report every year.