•  Trend analysis of CCRS in the last ten years (2012 to 2021) showed, with a few ups and downs in the first three years (2012 to 2014), citizens’ complaints have been constantly increasing from 2015 (67,835) to 2019 (1,28,145).
• Average time taken to resolve each citizen’s complaint was 48 days in 2017 and stayed at 48 days in 2021.L ward (Kurla) took the highest number of days(68 days) to resolve each civic complaint from 2017 to 2021.
• L – Kurla(74,078), KW– Andheri (W) (73,562) and KE – Andheri (E)(66,660) wards had the maximum number of consolidated citizens’ complaints from 2012 to 2021.
• r.t maximum complaints registered on basic service deliveries out of overall complaints from 2012 to 2021;
• 16% (1,50,831) complaints were registered for drainage related issues. KW ward – Andheri (W) (14,687) had maximum drainage complaints.
• 10% (96,360) complaints were registered for SWM related issues. KW ward – Andheri (W) (7,195) had maximum SWM complaints.
• 10% (92, 858) complaints were registered on water related issues. ME ward -Govandi / Mankhurd(9,541) had maximum SWM complaints
• Complaints per capita councilor constituency showed wards B – Sandhurst Road(10,298), C – Marine Line (7,656), D – Tardeo(6,444), and A – Colaba (6,070) had the maximum number of consolidated complaints from 2012 to 2021.
• 1 out of 6 questions asked in wards committee meetings were on naming and renaming of roads and chowks from 2012 to 2021.

Mumbai, May 2022: Praja Foundation launched its ‘Report on Status of Civic Issues in Mumbai 2022’ on Thursday, May 5, 2022. This report analyses the trend of citizens’ complaints registered on the Centralised Complaint Registration System (CCRS) and also provides effective solutions to strengthen BMC’s public grievance redressal management system.

City governments play a very important role in a citizen’s life by providing core civic services for their day-to-day activities. BMC has a legacy of providing core civic services in Mumbai and is one of the local governments with a large domain of these services for citizens’ including water supply, drainage, sanitation, roads, etc. It is particularly important for city governments to monitor how citizens are affected by these services’ quality and improvise with the citizens’ feedback they receive.

“BMC has a strong history with their public grievance redressal management system. Back in 2003, Praja supported BMC to start the Online Complaints Management System. In 2007, this was integrated into CCRS by BMC. With emerging technologies, BMC integrated various platforms into CCRS such as the voice of citizens, 24×7 My BMC app, My Pothole Fixit, BMC Whatsapp Chatbot, etc.” said Milind Mhaske, CEO, Praja Foundation.

“With a vision to strengthen BMC’s grievance redressal management, Praja analysed various trends of complaints registered in CCRS since 2012. With few ups and downs from 2012 to 2014, total complaints increased from 2015 (67,835) to 2019 (1,28,145). CCRS began generating time taken to resolve complaints in 2017 when the average time was 48 days. It decreased to 30 days in 2019 but increased back to 48 days in 2021. Complaints decreased from 1,28,145 in 2019 to 90,250 in 2021, which could be as citizens began to lose faith in BMC’s grievance redressal system.” said Yogesh Mishra, Head – Dialogue Programme, Praja Foundation.

Water and SWM-related complaints have increased from 7% of total complaints in 2012 to 12% in 2021. Drainage-related complaints have always been one of the highest since 2012. Complaints related to toilets and pest control have increased by 230% (148 in 2012 to 489 in 2021) and 149% (3,123 in 2012 to 7,785 in 2021) respectively.

“Ward wise analysis showed, L (74,078), KW (73,562), and KE (66,660) wards had the highest number of consolidated citizens’ complaints from 2012 to 2021. Moreover, complaints per capita councillor constituency shows B (10,298), C (7,656), D (6,444) and A (6,070) wards have the maximum number of consolidated complaints from 2012 to 2021. Similarly, in issue wise complaints per capita councillor constituency, B, HW, and KW wards had some of the maximum drainage related complaints; A, B, and D wards for roads; B, C, and D wards for SWM; and ME, C and N wards for water supply.” added Mishra.

Deliberations in wards committees by major political parties from 2012 to 2021, showed out of 9,382 total questions asked, BJP councillors asked 25%, INC asked 20% and Shiv Sena asked 37%. On an average, from 2012 to 2021, one BJP councillor asked 2 questions on water, 1 on drainage, and 4 on SWM; one INC councillor asked 3 questions on water, 2 on drainage, and 4 on SWM; while one Shiv Senacouncillor asked 3 questions on water, 2 on drainage and 3 on SWM. However, 8, 8, and 6 questions were asked by one BJP, INC, and Shiv Senacouncillor respectively on the naming and renaming of roads and chowks.

“To effectively provide and improve service delivery, citizens’ complaints data should be accessible to all stakeholders in an Open Government Data Portal for them to not only track complaints but also view other issues and the affected areas. Complaints should be resolved on time according to the citizen’s charter and ensure a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) is generated. Councillor code should also be generated for all complaints so councillors are aware of issues citizens are facing and hold the administration accountable through effective deliberation. “added Mhaske.

“A Citizens’ Feedback and Suggestion Mechanism should be introduced for complainants to express their satisfaction and enable more accountability within the overall system. The city government should then utilise the feedback to improvise on the services delivered in the city.

To improve the efficiency of service delivery through a feedback system, it is important for a democratically empowered city government which currently Mumbai does not have. This is because we have not been able to implement the principle of subsidiarity (a higher authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed at a more local level) through the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act in letter and spirit. With these major reforms and improvements, BMC will be able to fulfill the growing aspirations of their citizens.” concluded Mhaske.

About PRAJA Foundation:

Over the last two decades Praja has been working towards enabling accountable governance. We conduct data driven research on civic issues and inform key stakeholders such as Elected Representatives (ER), citizens, media, and government administration and work with ERs to equip them to address inefficiencies in their work processes, bridging the information gaps, and mobilising them in taking corrective measures while advocating for change.PRAJA’s goals are simplifying people’s lives, empowering the citizens and government with facts and creating instruments of change to improve the quality of life of people in India. PRAJA is committed to creating an accountable and efficient society through people’s participation.