Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to outsource its social media management to a multinational, KPMG International, for which it will spend Rs 6 crore over the next three years.
The BMC had first joined Twitter in February 2013. However, until the arrival of the current civic chief Praveen Pardeshi, it was not active on the microblogging site.
Pardeshi has made it compulsory for civic officials to address queries and complaints of citizens on Twitter. Accordingly, the civic body has hired KPMG to manage its social media presence. A proposal to this effect will be tabled in this week's standing committee meeting.
Based on the advice of the information technology consultant, a contract was signed on June 27, 2019, to hire 35 IT office assistants and social media experts among others, on a contractual basis.
For this, the BMC will incur an expenditure of Rs 5,79,14,000. Of the 35 IT assistants, 21 will work at the corporation's seven departmental offices, three at the disaster management cell, one each at the departments of public relations, trees and gardens, roads and bridges, health and solid waste management, respectively.
In the last few years, social media sites have become the most effective and fastest means of communication. Central and state governments broadcast information about their policies and work to citizens on social media.
To increase citizen participation, the BMC has created its own website, www. portal. mcgm.gov.in, has a presence on Twitter, @Majhi Mumbai, Aapli BMC, and a mobile app, MCGM 24*7.
The corporation has developed a central social media platform for all departments so as to reach the maximum number of citizens and address their grievances.
