The Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai is happy to publish "The Citizens' Charter".
The Citizens' Charter is a commitment of the Indian government to
raise the standard of public services. The Citizens' Charter also
endeavours to give more power to the citizens.
Mumbai
has always taken the lead on several fronts in India, and once again,
we are proud to take the lead in being the first government agency
to work on the Citizens' Charter in collaboration with the a Non
Governmental Organisation - PRAJA. We realised that the Citizens'
Charter would loose a lot of its credibility unless it has citizens'
participation.
The Citizens'
Charter is based on the following principles:
- Standards:
The citizens are aware of the quality of services that can be
expected of the MCGM and then take prescribed action if the services
do not conform to these standards.
- Accountability:
Through the Citizens' Charter a clear line of responsibility for
the various services is established.
- Transparency:
Information that is relevant to the people's needs is offered
so as to enhance their participation in civic life.
- Feedback:
The MCGM looks forward to the citizens using this document as
we will then get an accurate response as to how effectively the
public services met their needs.
We, at the Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai, will make all efforts to improve the
quality of the existing services and become more responsive to the
changing needs of our citizenry.
We hope
that citizens, on their part, will co-operate and use the Citizens'
Charter to participate more actively in civic life and not only
keep in mind their rights but responsibilities as well.
Mr.
K Nalinakshan
Municipal
Commissioner
Foreword
Dear Citizens,
As the Mayor of Mumbai
it gives me the greatest pleasure to write this Foreword for The
Citizens’ Charter which is collaborative effort of the Municipality
of Greater Mumbai and PRAJA.
The Municipal
Corporation of Greater Mumbai has taken the first step in offering
the citizens a wealth of information that would help them interact
more effectively with the Municipality. We now invite the citizens
to use this information to ensure a better standard of service.
Mumbai
is an important city not only as the capital city of Maharashtra
but as the commercial capital of India. Therefore we are very interested
in maintaining a high standard of public services.
We look
forward to greater participation of the citizens and we, on our
part will extend all the assistance required to ensure the efficiency
of the public services.
Hareshwar
Patil
MAYOR
Foreword
Efficient
city administration is a function of several inter-linked factors,
one of the most important being the quality of intelligent citizenship.
A good local self-government cannot function with just a highly
motivated bureaucracy and elected representatives alone. The other
side of the coin is the concern, awareness, and interest manifested
by the city’s inhabitants. An enlightened and well-informed citizen
body can pressurise the local governing body into action and compel
it to respond to the needs of the people.
Democracy
is the only form of government that allows citizens full and free
expression. It bestows a power which is really quite impotent unless
it is used. Of course the exercise of this power needs enlightened
citizens who are driven by a sense of social responsibility.
Lethargy
and indifference are the food on which misgovernment and corruption
thrive. The essence of an efficient civic administration is, therefore,
an enlightened, active community.
The 73rd
Amendment has facilitated the creation of decentralised structures
within the government. Under this decentralised system, all-important
functions of the major departments of the Corporation are located
in the 23 wards that the city is divided in to. This idea of local
self-government will be meaningless if the citizens do not play
a meaningful role in it. The basis of the legitimacy of local self-government
is a tripartite harmonising of effective administration, charismatic
leadership and public participation and support.
The Citizens’
Charter prepared by PRAJA, voluntary organistion, is the starting
point for the necessary people’s participation as it provides the
essential information which aims to educate the citizen about their
rights as well as their duties.
The Charter
will thus go a long way in an enabling individuals and groups to
interact with the local self-government personnel. This is a major
step in building not just citizens' awareness but a strong and viable
democracy through participative city management.
B.G.DESHMUKH
CHAIRMAN
TATA
Council for Community Initiatives
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