Transparent Administration

1. Making the administration transparent was a simple but most effective reform that was undertaken. Hitherto, the citizen who is the major stake holder in the civic affairs was not aware of the functioning and decision making process of the corporation. This created doubts in the mind of the citizen who was skeptical about whatever the corporation did.

2. To start with, guidelines were written down for all the services the corporation provided and were made public. Accounts of the HDMC were published in the website giving details of works taken up, name of the agency and the amount paid. Every rupee spent was publicly accounted. Such a transparent administration won the confidence of citizen in no time.

Networking of Zonal Offices

HDMC has set up 12 Zonal Offices cum Citizen Service Centres (CSCs) to provide better services to the citizens of Hubli - Dharwad. Each Zonal Office comprises of 6-7 Wards, headed by a Chief Officer. These offices act as full fledged HDMC offices. Citizens need not come to Central Office to avail any of the services.

All these CSCs are equipped with Computers and Printers, which are connected to the Central Database Server located in the Hubli Central Office thru’ Wide Area Network (WAN) and all the departments of Hubli Central Office are connected thru’ Local Area Network (LAN). This work is entrusted to BSNL amounting to Rs. 15 lakhs.

The project cell has been formed in consultation with KIMS, KUD, Dharwad for simplification of office procedures and development of Management Information System (MIS). This module will run on WAN, capturing all the process information carried out in the Zonal Offices like Various Tax Collection, Civil works’ information, No. of Birth/Death Copies issued, No. of public grievances received and redressed etc.

The various services provided by the Zonal offices after implementation of WAN are;

• Registration and Certification of Births & Deaths
• Property Tax Challans / Notices
• Public grievances redressal module
• Estimation & Tendering
• Smart card attendance, payroll and employee information system
• Issue of Building Permissions & Completion Certificates
• File Tracking Software
• Trade License

Service Portal

The Web site is a speedy and effective means for dissemination of information, interaction with people and for delivery of services to Citizens. It presents the face of the Organisation, its Mission, Vision, functions, activities, performance, etc. It provides features enabling public and stakeholders give their views / feedback and in realizing Digital Democracy.

The HDMC is committed to build an environment that inspire and facilitate the realisation of an eGovernment, which encompasses interalia the development and deployment of Citizen centric Services through web enabled processes, electronic workflows, eEnabled applications, collaborative partnerships and participation of Citizens, clients and stakeholders.

Effective operation and management of the website and associated electronic workflows, re-engineered processes, enhance the quality of governance, help achieve improved productivities, realize envisaged outcomes, a responsive and transparent Governance leveraging on knowledge, inputs, feedback of Citizens and stakeholders.

HDMC has formed a “Website Advisory Committee” involving representatives from Local Engineering and Management Colleges, who will meet from time to time and advise HDMC in website related issues.

Features of the website:

Overview of HDMC – Zone Details, Ward Details
Online issue of Birth & Death Certificates with e-payment facility
Online Property details
Complaints registration
Opinion Box
Online Chat
Income & Expenditure Details
Contractors’ payment list
Tenders & Notifications
Online Poll
Feedback

www.hdmc.gov.in

Digitization of Births & Deaths

The registration and certification of Births and Deaths is one of the obligatory functions of the Corporation. Earlier registration system leaves much to be desired in the quality of data collected and the coverage obtained. India, in general, collects very poor data on the Cause of Death, which could be vitally important in medical research and other health and socio-economic studies.

The process of Birth/Death registration and certification is streamlined in HDMC with use of IT technologies. The Birth and Death records have been computerized from the year 1961 and being issued thru’ all the Zonal Offices. The Computers installed in the Zonal Offices are connected to the Central Office Server thru’ Wide Area Network. These Zonal Offices cum Citizen Service Centres act as a full-fledged HDMC Offices. Citizens need not come to Central Office to avail any of the services. The hospitals are informed to send the Birth & Death reports to the concerned Zonal Offices. Once the data is entered in the Software, citizens can get the certificate in any of the zonal office across Hubli – Dharwad. The Software is developed by MIS Team of HDMC. The Software automatically generates the unique identity number for each registration. The data is being stored in English and Kannada languages. The software generates various MIS reports like No. of copies, Registration No., date and time of certification done by the respective Zonal Offices.

Further, HDMC is working on online issue of Birth & Death certificates with e-payment facility. This work is under progress and will be implemented shortly.

Construction of Footpaths

The Hubli - Dharwad Municipal Corporation, after the demolition drive, chalked out an action plan involving an expenditure of Rs. 5 crores for the construction of footpaths, drains and widening of roads, the work covering 24 roads in the twin cities.

Reforms in HDMC

Hubli - Dharwad Municipal Corporation was constituted in the year 1962 by combining two cities separated by a distance of 20 kilometers. This is a unique experiment in urban development history. The area of this Corporation is 202.28 sq.kms. Spread over 45 revenue villages.

Overview :

Population : 8.5 lakhs ; 1 lakh floating population
Needs to clear 280 tonnes of garbage every day
Has to monitor 3000 new constructions every year
Maintains 580 km of roads
Expenditure : 44.6 crore
Staff strength : 2600
Scope of functions and responsibilities : To meet Public Amenities by proper action plan

In order to increase the credibility of the corporation and also to improve the administration, the HDMC has taken initiative to decentralize the working of the corporation. The twin cities are divided into 12 zonal offices headed by the chief officers, who will be responsible for efficient working of their zonal areas.

HDMC has the central office at Hubli with branch office at Dharwad and has 12 Citizen Service Centers (zonal offices) covering 67 wards of corporation. Presently all the day to day functional activities are carried out by zonal offices and are monitored by head office. The Corporation has decentralized its functioning in 12 zones to decentralize administration. The Zonal Chief officer and his team will be audited by these agenda groups and an award system will be introduced based on this evaluation. In other words the people of Hubli-Dharwad will assess the performance of the Corporation officials.

24 hours Emergency Response and Public Grievance Redressal Centre:

It is a fact that all of us acknowledge that the Government is struggling to provide efficient service to citizens. Talking about the Municipalities and Corporations, the less said the better. But as everything changes, even the Governance in the local bodies also change.

A full-fledged control room has been set up in the Corporation premises with 4 persons in each shift working round the clock. It is headed by an officer who regularly monitors the nature of complaints and takes necessary steps to address them.

This Corporation attends to the public grievances like, road repairs, under ground drainage cleaning, maintenance of street lights, removal of garbage and carcass of stray dogs/pigs.

Citizen can register their complaints via telephone ( 2213888) or thru website www.hdmc.gov.in

Civic Awareness Programme at HDMC:

To have a smooth and efficient Corporation it’s necessary for both corporation and citizens to be civic consciousness. Today Government is struggling to provide best services to citizens, whereas, citizens are not aware of their responsibilities i.e. citizens should be promoted and nurtured towards active citizenship.

Government is meant for citizens; hence both should go hand in hand. It’s not the sole responsibility of Government but citizens have to participate with leadership qualities so as to improve the living standards.

To help Government in improving better services to citizens, citizens should come forward and avoid violating rules.