BMC office in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, April 11: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed the introduction of a zonal system to streamline civic administration in the city.

Sources said the BMC has proposed the division of the city into five zones in the interest of better administration. The state government is likely to approve the proposal soon.

Sources said that once the system was introduced, it would become easier for citizens to get their grievances redressed through zonal offices.

“For example, residents staying near Patia in ward No. 2 will not be required to travel 15km to the BMC office in Kalpana Square to get their job done. He can approach his zonal office. The urban local body is likely to have office in the east, west, north, south and central areas of the capital,” said an official.

The zonal administration system is currently in vogue in different municipal corporations of the country and has helped ensure better service delivery. With the projected population of the city touching nine-lakh mark, the decentralisation of municipal administration has become necessary.

Municipal commissioner Vishal Kumar Dev indicated that some other initiatives such as use of information technology to address people’s grievances through a single window could also be taken to improve the standards of municipal administration.

Hinting at BMC’s future strategies on the occasion of the upcoming Capital Foundation Day celebration and thereafter, Dev added that the issue of accessible administration for all citizens would be BMC’s new focus area.

“The single window clearing system will be implemented to take up tasks in a multi-modal approach where one has to come to the counter and apply online on a prescribed format so that there is no need to visit different desks. Officials manning the single window will communicate with various departments so that the grievances are addressed on time. To assist the municipal commissioner, additional commissioners and deputy commissioners will have greater roles to play,’’ said a senior BMC officer.

Basant Kumar Choudhury, secretary, Shree Vihar Welfare Association, said: “The proposal given by the municipal authorities for having a zonal administration system will be a great help for people like us.”

“Visiting BMC office from Patia is a difficult task and by the time a complaint is addressed, an entire day is lost in that. We were thinking about giving a suggestion in this regard,’’ he added.