=============================================
To:
Ms. Ashwini Bhide, IAS —
Municipal Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
To:
Smt. Ritu Tawde —
Hon'ble Mayor of Mumbai
mayor@mcgm.gov.in / councillor132@mcgm.gov.in / contact@mynagarsevak.in
Cc: Mr. Agendra Kumar, CEO, ESRI India (info@esri.in / agendra.kumar@esri.in )
===============================================
Subject:
Congratulations on MyBMC MARG — a citizen's grievance app, 13 years in
the making
Respected Commissioner Bhide and Hon'ble Mayor Tawde,
Please accept my warm congratulations on the launch of MyBMC MARG
(Management and Redressal of Grievances).
I downloaded it, used it, and can say without flattery that it is among the most
genuinely user-friendly civic apps I have seen from any Indian municipal body.
The 114 grievance categories, the geo-tagged photo upload, the "Logged →
Resolved" real-time tracking, the closing satisfaction-feedback step, and the
ward-wise analytical dashboards for your officers — together these make
Mumbai's civic governance both transparent and accountable. That is no small
achievement.
I write also to record a small, happy piece of history.
On 29 December 2012, and again on 18 August 2013 (sent to the leaders of
the major political parties then campaigning), I proposed a mobile app I called "I
SIN >< U SIN" — short for "I Seek It Now >< U Solve It Now."
It was meant to be a single grievance-redressal app covering every civic
department, with a built-in feedback loop. Thirteen years on, MyBMC MARG
embodies that idea almost feature-for-feature:
| What I proposed in I SIN >< U SIN (2012–13) | What MyBMC MARG now delivers (2026) |
|---|---|
One app for all civic departments; a single menu of services ("list not to exceed 50") | A single app spanning 114 grievance categories |
Lodge a complaint by typing — in a language of one's choice — or by voice, for illiterate users | Lodge a complaint with a geo-tagged photo for precise context |
On submission: complaint number + name/contact of the responsible officer + expected date of resolution | Real-time tracking from "Logged" to "Resolved" with transparent timelines |
A public tabulation of departments, ranked by complaints received / cleared / pending | Ward-wise analytical dashboards for supervisors to monitor performance |
| (The missing piece in later apps) a citizen feedback step | Direct feedback on satisfaction once a complaint is closed |
I had noted in 2017 that UMANG — itself a partial realisation of this same
suggestion — still lacked precisely this feedback-and-accountability loop. MyBMC
MARG closes that gap. To see the idea finally land, at the municipal level and in
my own city, is a deep personal satisfaction.
I record this not to claim credit, but in the spirit I have always held : that good
governance grows when a citizen suggests, the administration listens, and able
hands build. On this occasion all three came together.
May I therefore also extend my sincere congratulations, through this copy, to Mr.
Agendra Kumar, CEO of ESRI India, and his team, for the design and
engineering that turned the concept into such a polished, dependable tool.
With respect and best wishes for MyBMC MARG's success,
Hemen Parekh
I SIN >< U SIN, 2013 · UMANG: My Suggestion Implemented, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment