Mumbai: Corporators across the parties opposed the proposal tabled in the standing committee meeting of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to spend Rs 6 crore for developing a central social media platform for all departments of the municipality.
Despite the objection by the members of the standing committee, the proposal was approved in the meeting held on Wednesday.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will use the social platform to provide various departmental information, updates and programs to the citizens. BMC has now developed Central Social Media which would cost approximately Rs 50-60 thousand per day.
BMC will spend Rs 6 crore for the next three years for the creation a team of 35 IT experts on behalf of Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation (MahaIT).
The opposition parties strongly opposed the proposal of hiring new IT officials, as there are already public relations department, media advisers, IT cell and other departments.
BMC have started Mazi Mumbai and Aapli BMC for people to lodge their complaints about infrastructure services and various development projects provided by the corporation.
In addition to the website www.portal.mcgm.gov.in and the tweeter handle, BMC has also developed a mobile application called ‘MCGM24*7’. Despite this, the central social media platform will be developed by the BMC for all the departments for which approximately Rs 50-60 thousand will be spend per day.
Opposition leader in BMC Ravi Raja opposed the proposal and slammed the administration for creating need for outsourcing people and adding expense to the corporation. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) group leader Rakhi Jadhav and Samajwadi Party group leader Raees Shaikh supported Raja with this.
“What is the need for additional people for social media and spending more on it, when we already have huge man power and IT cell,” said Ravi Raja. However, finally the proposal was approved by majority poll of the members.
