Do you want to monitor BBMP’s projects?Come and learn how

Indian Center for Social Transformation is a public charitable trust. It provides services that are scalable secure and efficient while improving overall service and reducing cost. This is what the entry page title declares. The BBMP soft ware looks to be provided by this organization namely ICST

I tried to register as a user of their web site. It was a horrible experience to say the least. Spent half an hour but could not succeed in registering on to their cloud computing system. I think my registration for the general use went through.

To illustrate my experience :-

I had to keep clicking 68 times to give my Date of birth. I had to use the calendar starting with 2011 and travel till 1942. My god what un innovation!!!!

Still I have hopes and will attend.

This is the link to the WGPMS.

Picked REMS first. Data is bad, looks like test data. The filter for location is incomplete. I dont even know what REMS is supposed to do. In the date wise query they have actually listed all dates in a drop down pick list. Wait for more data that list is going to just hang.

Then picked wards, figured the ward list in the drop down pick list isnt even sorted alphabetically making it impossible to pick yours. Now why would you put that useless drop down list when you have listed all of them in the right half of the screen? Beats me.

Went into Ward 19 (Sanjaynagar) found projects for New BEL road, RMV etc in that list even though New BEL road doesnt belong to ward 19. I figured from the description that projects are still being accounted for under the old ward numbering system and carried projects of ward 99 which has been redrawn since long. Now this is going to be a nightmare for tracking. Are they actually crediting ward 19 for other ward works? Or is Ward 19 having money to spurge on everybody else? Worse there is even a park for Yelahanka new town listed under ward 19 !!! How bad is this data? Why is Guttahali nursing home improvements in ward 19? It isnt even close to ward 19. Are they just dumping stuff in there?

Project detais do not have anything like DPR/Designs etc attached. Are we supposed to review work codes?

This brings me to the point about how our civic agencies use these IT systems. If they are not their primary & only source of record keeping forget about this becoming anything useful. It will degenerate like all govt websites. 

PS - Hey there is snowfall in the background !!!

Firstly consultant who prepares framework/DPR cant participate in implementation as per the KA transparency in procurement act, so if infy makes the framework & roadmap they cant participate in the real implementaition of the workflow system. Secondly E&Y is standard consultant within GoK for this type of work. Some depts actually welcome other consultants to come forward & empanel themselves. There will be bunch of DPR's waiting to be done & you can take you pick. For IT related work there are few vendors as most want to bid for the larger implementation rather than the smaller consulting piece.

The resistance to workflow might decrease but I can bet there will be arm twisting of the implementing agencies to provide manual bypasses to every system. I have heard this reluctance when the property mapping was happening, the folks in the various offices tried all they could to scuttle it including simple tricks like claiming to forget the login password to windows & not informing the helpdesk for a new password.

The janlokpal citizens charter or even the right to service act should become the framework to define the service level for each transaction type, work backwards to define application & infrastructure service levels to outsourced service providers.

It will be interesting to see if the WGPMS will be hooked to this workflow to show the real status of the works instead of the useless behemoth it is now.The WGPMS shoud show how many updates are happening on a weekly basis so the people know the truth about these IT "systems" 

On the topic of monitoring & digitization here is the cat which nobody is willing to bell

BBMP engineers are now doing a survey on the damage to the roads and also started the process of finding out the road history.

So why is the road history being done now? Because the BBMP does not have a centralised database on the history of each road — the time it was asphalted, the cost, who the contractors were and so on.

“There is a tremendous opposition to such a database being generated both from within and outside the civic authority, as the history could prevent roads in good condition being re-laid,” said a senior BBMP official, hinting at well-entrenched corruption. The road history will also help the palike manage the roads better — both before and after monsoon.

Source

I gave up after similar disappointments.

I booked on 'ichangemycity'.

Result not encouraging.

K.V.Pathy

Two years back, I met one of BMTC planners. And I suggested using facebook. Also I had emailed to then Chief Controller of Traffic by giving example of  BTP and KSRTC. It seems they are not interested. In fact, I suggested them to FBise their complaint system. Additionally I had suggested them to issue monthly ePass electronically via an internet portal (similar to KSRTC etickets with any of govt issue as ID proof).

Few indicated reasons, though may not be real ones. 

a) Most of BMTC officials are less internet savy

b) BMTC does not have definite target customer base

c) BMTC has too many routes and types of service classes

d) They see facebook as "unstructured" system unlike their "dedicated" complaint management system

May be we can give a re-try to convince this time. Who will ring the bell of cat? :)

" Residents’ Welfare Association, Kallahalli, were shocked when they learnt that the road-laying work worth Rs 20 lakh (Rs 19.99 lakh to be precise) was sanctioned for their area in September 2011. "

more here

This has been the case since ages, people need to raise individual RTI's to get information on their wards where the responsible people just get away richer..all that BBMP does is put brakes on all transparency initiatives like the ones in this post or set fire to evidence.

BBMP has turned into a cash cow for the politicians across all parties..hence no one including the ruling party wants to do anything about it.

Its high  time someone puts a stop to this henious practice..is Siddu CM upto it?!