'New mayor should be tech-savvy to connect with people'

Outgoing Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) administrator T M Vijay Bhaskar (in pic), at his last meeting on Thursday, suggested ways to improve the financial condition of the civic agency and suggested that the new mayor should adopt technology to connect with people easily.

Addressing a meeting attended by the Palike officials, Bhaskar said unwanted posts should be eliminated and a proposal had been sent to the State government for the sanctioning of 979 new posts. Immediate appointment of 250 staffers had also been sought.

He suggested that the new Council make road inventory mandatory before clearing the bills as it will help avoid duplication of road works. “GIS-based road history and road inventory has been uploaded for about 88.88 per cent of roads on the website,” he added. When compared to last year, this time, the property tax collection had increased. This year, a total of Rs 1363.90 crore property tax was collected, while, last year, a total of Rs 1212.70 crore. However, he said, in order to improve the financial stability of the Palike, it will take at least one-and-a-half to two years.

“The Council have to clears bills with transparency and carry on works and inspection efficiently, if the Palike has to get back to track and be financially sound. Presently, bills till September, 2013, have been cleared and pending bills are worth Rs 4,000 crore,” he added.  Vijay Bhaskar recommended the mayor and the Palike higher officials to use technology to connect with citizens to know their problems.

“There is already an FB account in the name of mayor and it should be activated once the mayor is appointed. Similarly, I recommend the corporators to use Twitter or Facebook,” Bhaskar told Deccan Herald. On the garbage disposal crisis, Bhaskar said about seven waste processing units are coming up in the City out of which, five functional. “Steps are being taken to ensure that the remaining two units operate soon. At least 2,350 tonnes of waste will be processed in these units every day,” the outgoing administrator said.