Soon, a centralised system for lodging civic complaints

To deal with public complaints efficiently and monitor them closely, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike ( BBMP) will set up a centralised complaint system.

Speaking on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate a mobile application for public grievances and online application for tree cutting, Special Commissioner (Finance) Kumar Pushkar said: “The system, complete with a call centre, would come up at the Palike head office by June. Tenders have already been floated for infrastructure works and a call centre agency to handle the complaints.”

He said people at present head to zonal offices, use the Sahaaya portal or call the helpline 22660000 for lodging complaints. “While the zonal offices, website and helpline will continue to function, the centralised complaint system, once operational, will cater to all sorts of complaints under one roof. Moreover, as it will be functional at the head office, Palike officials will supervise them effectively,” Pushkar said.

Meanwhile, Android mobile users can download the app ‘BBMP Sahaaya’ from Google Play Store to register their complaints about fallen branches, waste, drains, khata, roads and other issues.

Mayor B N Manjunatha Reddy, who unveiled the app said: “ It serves as one central system to report grievance across more than 20 departments.

 “As soon as complaints are sent by citizens, they reach a 24/7 call centre where the staff follow them up with the BBMP officers concerned. Citizens can monitor the status of their complaints/requests. It needs one-time registration and common issues have been listed on the app for easy navigation.”

IT department officials said the status update is sent through SMS along with the phone number of the officer concerned to the complainant.   The online application for tree cutting, on the other hand, is aimed at reducing the volume of records and manual work of the BBMP forest department and help people.

Procedure

“The online platform helps one raise a complaint as well as apply for felling trees on private properties and Palike properties. All that the citizen needs to do is go to the website bbmp.gov.in and head to ‘Forests/Wildlife ’ on the home page.

There he/she can submit the application online by filling the required details. Citizens will also get the application status at each stage through SMS alerts along with contact numbers for the officers concerned,” said Nandini H E, a developer of the online platform.    
Mayor Reddy said the Palike will chalk out plans to introduce the online facility to other departments as well in future.