The Times of India: Bhopal:Wednesday, February 29, 2012.
On scale, it may not have been a grand affair, but in the second weekly public hearing on Tuesday, 39 cases related to civic body-related grievances were heard in the Sadar Manzil, headquarters of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday. Most cases were about water problems, building permission, pension, encroachments and cleanliness-related issues. Besides, 20 cases of similar nature were heard in 14 zone offices of the corporation.
The programme got going from last week, more than two years after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had made it mandatory for all administrative departments to have weekly public hearing in 2009.
Nitin Saxena, Right to Information (RTI) activist, complained to the BMC higher-ups present that the BMC officials do not provide proper information when an RTI is registered in any department.
Commissioner Rajneesh Shrivastav instructed officials to provide him all the necessary information in seven days and warned the officials against any act of irresponsibility.
Mayor Krishna Gaur, Mayor-in-Council members, corporators, BMC commissioner and all the head of the departments were present at the meeting.
The grievances were registered through mobile phones as well. "We were receiving complaints through phone calls as well," the BMC commissioner said. "The process will continue and the problems of the people will be solved, not only just heard," the commissioner assured.
"It was the first time when a public hearing was conducted at a grand level," BJP corporator and MiC member Krishna Mohan Soni told TOI.
"It is a good thing that the new commissioner began the practice of public hearing," BMC council chairperson Kailash Mishra told TOI.
Former commissioner of the BMC did not conduct any public hearing in his tenure despite the state government orders for the same.
The programme got going from last week, more than two years after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had made it mandatory for all administrative departments to have weekly public hearing in 2009.
Nitin Saxena, Right to Information (RTI) activist, complained to the BMC higher-ups present that the BMC officials do not provide proper information when an RTI is registered in any department.
Commissioner Rajneesh Shrivastav instructed officials to provide him all the necessary information in seven days and warned the officials against any act of irresponsibility.
Mayor Krishna Gaur, Mayor-in-Council members, corporators, BMC commissioner and all the head of the departments were present at the meeting.
The grievances were registered through mobile phones as well. "We were receiving complaints through phone calls as well," the BMC commissioner said. "The process will continue and the problems of the people will be solved, not only just heard," the commissioner assured.
"It was the first time when a public hearing was conducted at a grand level," BJP corporator and MiC member Krishna Mohan Soni told TOI.
"It is a good thing that the new commissioner began the practice of public hearing," BMC council chairperson Kailash Mishra told TOI.
Former commissioner of the BMC did not conduct any public hearing in his tenure despite the state government orders for the same.
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