Ward system will streamline civic services, says Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi

♦ 132 out of 150 wards made operational, remaining 18 to follow

♦ Each ward headed by Assistant Municipal Commissioners with dedicated teams

♦  ‘Citizen Charter’ ensures prompt resolution of civic issues within specific time frame

Hyderabad: City Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi said that the ward system aims to streamline civic services and ensure faster access for the city residents. On Friday, the Mayor inaugurated the ward offices in Banjara Hills, Himayat Nagar and L B Nagar. This system has been inaugurated in Greater Hyderabad to solve public problems within a time bound manner.

On this occasion, she said that the State government has implemented the ward system in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) like nowhere else in the country. She said that the ward offices are set up with staff from all departments so that people do not make frequent visits to the offices to solve their grievances. However, GHMC already has 6 zonal offices and 30 circle offices and now these ward offices are set up to serve the citizens.

GHMC Commissioner Lokesh Kumar said that out of 150 wards 132 wards are made operational from Friday and the remaining 18 wards will be made functioning within a week. He said that apart from the grievances related to the civic body, the problems of other departments will be received in the ward office and informed to the concerned department. As per the orders of the Ministers, they will review the performance of the ward system and take appropriate action from time to time.

According to GHMC, each ward has been formed for a population of 40,000. The ward offices will be headed by Assistant Municipal Commissioners, responsible for overseeing various departments. A dedicated team of 10 officers from departments such as road maintenance, sanitation, entomology, town planning, electricity, and water supply will operate from these offices from 10 am to 5 pm.

The registered problems will be resolved promptly following the ‘Citizen Charter’ and if the officer fails in solving in a given time period, action will be taken against the officials.

In the Charter, the civic services including filling potholes, replacing damaged or missing catch pits, removing accumulated roadside silt and repairing streetlights, anti-larval operations, fogging operations and removing of dead animals’ carcasses are to be addressed within 24 hours.

Moreover, the removal of water stagnation, clearing in stormwater drains, and clearing construction and debris waste issues from roads will be solved in 48 hours. The establishment and maintenance work for public toilets have been allotted a time frame of one month. Also, the services such as the pet dog licenses will be issued in 7 days, identity cards for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and senior citizens (Aasara and Vikasam) in 15 days.