Not just laptops, corporators demand proper software too

For the corporators of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ( BMC), all things should seem pictureperfect before they can actually begin with their work.

Not content with the laptops and official email ids given by the civic body, they have now demanded software that will provide them all the data and information about their respective wards so that they can work in a better way.

According to the BMC sources, lot of corporators are complaining about the lack of necessary statistics of on- going development works in their wards. Details like population of the ward, provision of budget for various works, important locations, water supply, flood prone areas etc. are essential for their knowledge, they say.

Shiv Sena's Sunil Prabhu, who is also a BMC house leader, has asked the civic information technology ( IT) department the need of such software, which will have all these details, for the corporators. " While carrying out civic works in our wards, we often require such information and every time we have to keep asking civic officials for the details.

If this data is readily available in our laptops, it will be very convenient for us," he said.

Officials of the IT department are still mulling over the software proposal as the past experience of the corporators about use of laptops has not been very encouraging.

The BMC, in 2009, had provided all the 227 corporators a Sony Vaio laptop with the intention of reducing the paper work and providing civic agendas on their computers. Two months ago, the civic body also gave them personal email ids. However, leave alone logging in, majority of the corporators are not even using the laptops, said an official.

Standing committee chairman Rahul Shevale said, " It's true that the corporators have been given laptops and the civic body had even organized a computer training programme for them to learn the know- how of computers.

But the SAP software, which the BMC uses to connect all its system, is not yet installed in their laptops. Also the lack of necessary software is also hampering them from using the laptops." We are discussing the software issue with the corporators about their requirements and how it can be developed, said an official.

However, he admitted that the software can be useful for the corporators for carrying out development works in their wards.