Wait and watch for BMC's ward level online services

Even as the ambitious project of offering ward- level services in the city- based cyber cafes and grocery shops is yet to materialize, the civic administration is moving at snail's pace in providing information on licenses, certificates etc by furnishing them on its web portal.

It is still a wait and watch situation for people to just visit their nearest cyber café or grocery shop to seek details about shops and establishments, registration, trade licenses, hoarding licenses, birth and death certificates, which the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ( BMC) had assured last month. However, the city corporation has now made the database available on its web portal under section Citizen Services.

In a bid to ensure transparency and ease services delivered to citizens, the BMC web portal has opened a huge data regarding registration, certificates which it has collected through the years. " People can now access primary information regarding certificates, registration etc from BMC website. The move will also reduce the Right To Information applications as majority database is now for free access," said Aseem Gupta, Additional Municipal Commissioner.

He further said people could now verify, if hoardings and hawkers in their area are legal or not. " It would ease the process of complaining too," added Gupta.

Currently, people can go to any Sify e- port or franchise outlets owned by ITZ Cash and pay water and property tax as BMC has signed an agreement with both the companies to offer these services by charging only Rs 10 to the people.

BMC had earlier assured that during Diwali this year, additional services like issuing birth and death certificate, applications for different types of license, filing and tracking complaints etc would be made available.

Nevertheless, people will still have to wait a little longer to have all 108 ward- level services at their nearest cyber cafes or grocery shops.