The off-site real-time urban governance monitoring system uses the ubiquitous cellphone as a major component.

Hyderabad : 

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) claims to be the first to use a real-time urban governance monitoring system at any level of government to attend to citizens’ complaints and increase the efficiency of civic services.

The off-site real-time (OSRT) monitoring system uses the ubiquitous cell phone as a major component. GPRS technology allows cellphones to capture real-time images of public servants at work or public sites under inspection, with the date, time and location of the picture. These images are instantly transmitted to a central server and are available in the public domain.

Garbage collection, for instance, which is outsourced to private contractors can be easily monitored using this system. The private contractor collects the garbage and brings it to dumper bins from where it is taken to transfer stations. The corporation takes over from here and transfers the waste to the main dump yards.

Around 4,000 bins have to be cleared; 16,000 workers are employed for this work. But there was no way of ascertaining whether the bins were cleared regularly or whether workers reported regularly for work.

With the introduction of the OSRT system, the supervisor uses his cell phone to take a picture when the workers show up for work, and uploads it on the GHMC server. The state of the bins can be similarly verified.

The GHMC estimates that dumper bin lifting for transport to transfer stations has increased from 76 per cent to 98 per cent and that worker attendance has gone up from 85 per cent to 95 per cent.

Citizens can also make complaints and get the outcome using their cell phones. The complaint is text-messaged in by the citizen. It goes to the concerned ward officer and corporator. Once the fault is rectified, the status is uploaded and the report posted online. A message is sent to the complainant and the corporator. All complaints have to be attended to within 48 hours or the concerned official is fined.

Compliance with building permissions — a hotbed of corruption — can also be better monitored. Real-time images are taken every 15 days at various stages of construction to check whether the builder is sticking to the sanctioned building plan.

Illegalities can thus be clearly detected, though commensurate punishment remains in fallible human hands.

source: http://www.postnoon.com /PostNoon / Home> City / August 01st, 2013

It might take years to put in place required medical infrastructure in the new AP capital

With the presence of several healthcare institutions, both private and public, Hyderabad has emerged as a major medical hub in the country.

Some of the leading speciality institutions like the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) cater to patients not only from different parts of the country, but also from abroad. Over the years, the top hospitals have not only steadily built the needed infrastructure, but also attracted medical experts in different fields from all over the country.

Once the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh takes place, it might take several years for putting in place the required medical infrastructure in the capital of AP in its new geographical avatar. To overcome this problem, it has been suggested that the government provide incentives, land at subsidised rate and tax holiday for faster growth of high-end healthcare infrastructure in the new capital.

Pointing out that the private sector played a major part in the development of high-end tertiary medical institutions in Hyderabad, CEO of Apollo Hospitals Group (Central Region) Dr. K. Hari Prasad said the private sector would start investing once a new capital is identified.

“What has made a big difference to Hyderabad is the investment made by private sector,” he added.

He said the private sector would look for stability and incentives. For instance, incentives would enable a proposal to establish a 1,000-bed hospital in a year to enhance its strength to 1,500 beds. The investment needed for a high-end hospital would range from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 1 lakh per bed.

Connectivity

Dr. Hari Prasad said that initially every institution would cater to the local population. Subsequent growth would depend upon road, rail and air connectivity and the reputation of the institution. Healthcare infrastructure would definitely come up in the new capital, but growth after that would be entirely dependent on connectivity.

Chairman of the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy suggested earmarking a big area of land for developing a medical city in the new capital. He said quick single window clearances, including those to pertaining to environment and pollution, should be given to anybody planning to set up a medical centre.

He said incentives and giving land at a cheaper rate would enable faster development of medical infrastructure.

According to Dr. K. Ravindranath, CMD of Global Hospitals Group, development and growth of medical infrastructure would depend where the new capital would be located. Providing land, incentives and tax benefits would give a fillip to development of healthcare infrastructure as it would take a long time for the hospitals to achieve breakeven.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Y. MallikArjun / Hyderabad – August 01st, 2013