The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has resolved 3,055 of the 5,043 complaints it received on its e-grievance redressal system launched in September 2016.
In the eight-month period, the highest number of complaints — 984 — were registered from Nerul ward, while only 54 complaints were registered by Digha residents. According to the NMMC, the complaints were addressed within seven days, with overall satisfaction of 47.79%.
The corporation launched the integrated mobile application and portal for real-time redressal of grievances related to all departments.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Ankush Chavan said, “Our main aim was to simplify the cumbersome process citizens had to go through to lodge complaints. They would need to know the name of the department, the ward and other details to file a complaint. Secondly, no definite time period was defined for grievance redressal, and citizens were required to visit in person multiple times, thus creating the possibility for delays, favouritism, and corruption,” he said.
Mr. Chavan said that the high number of complaints from Nerul did not mean the node was problematic.
Ensuring accountability
The grievance redressal mechanism is designed to escalate the complaint automatically if it remains unattended for the first 24 hours or remains unresolved within seven days. The escalation levels are mapped into the system till the level of the Municipal Commissioner to bring in greater accountability. The complainant is alerted about the status of the grievance by SMS and email.
Taking this initiative a step further, the NMMC recently also analysed all grievances according to sector, node and department to identify problem areas and gauge the citizens’ satisfaction with the civic body.
“Many times, citizens do not post their feedback about the work the municipal corporation has done to address their complaints. It is important that citizens share views whether they are satisfied or not with the work. Based on the analysis of the feedback, the officer concerned guides the staff to provide detailed responses to complainants. This continuous analysis helps us do our work efficiently. More than just numbers, it’s an in-depth study that gives us a meaningful insight into the functioning of the NMMC,” Mr. Chavan said.
‘Effective mechanism’
Meanwhile, the residents who have placed compliant on the NMMC portal have found the system to be effective. “I had made a complaint through the e-grievance system about a light that was not functioning at a playground next to my residence. The issue was resolved within 46 hours. I even received an alert via SMS, asking if the work had been completed and if it was satisfactory,” said Prashant Dalvi, a resident of Vashi.
Preethi Rao, a resident of Nerul said prompt action was taken by the authorities on her grievances. “I had placed three complaints: one was about a footpath, one about functional street lights, and the third about debris. All the issues were resolved. However, I had to re-escalate the footpath complaint, but that too was resolved within a fortnight.”
