Praja Foundation

Praja Foundation is a non-partisan, voluntary organisation, based in Mumbai, India that works on urban and civic issues. Praja runs an Online Complaint Management System (OCMS) in collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

History

Praja Foundation is a non-partisan, voluntary organization whose aim is to empower citizens and the government with knowledge, information and facts. They are committed to the re-establishment of accountability and transparency in public governance through people’s participation.

Praja was founded in 1998 by a group of young socially active citizens of Mumbai, from various professions and walks of life who believe that collective action can make a change in improving living standards in one of the world's busiest cities, Mumbai. They work in cooperation with government agencies.

Citizens charters

A citizen’s charter is a document from the government agency, which provides citizens with information on the various services of the government; the speed and quality with which the government commits to provide these services; and a clear procedure for complaint redress and escalation. Praja has worked with the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) in jointly developing a citizen’s charter. In coordination with the MCGM, Praja continually refine these service 4. level commitments and standards. Praja conduct extensive trainings of officers and staff of the MCGM on customer service and use of the charter. Apart from the MCGM, Praja also developed an easy to use charter for the Right to Information.

Performance surveys and report cards

Their next step is to get an accurate picture of what citizens think by carrying out surveys. In 2000 and 2001, Praja commissioned extensive performance surveys, carried out by ORG-MARG, India’s leading market research agency. These were undertaken in order to understand the citizen’s opinion of the MCGM’s performance – both about the MCGM as a whole, as well as its various departments and their service delivery. These results are then telescoped into a “report card” where various departments/geographical areas are rated by the citizens. This report card is discussed at public meetings where government officials and eminent citizens are present where we obtain commitments for improvement from the government officials. Their latest series of surveys – Complaint Audits—have been on grievance handling of the MCGM. They aim to monitor whether citizen complaints received by the MCGM have been acknowledged and redressed, and whether redressal was done in the time stipulated in the Citizen’s Charter and how satisfied the citizen is with the work done.

Monitoring tools

Their third phase consists of a monitoring tool, which helps both the government agency as well as citizens. Based on the parameters in the charter, they have developed an Online Complaint Monitoring System (OCMS) to monitor the progress of citizen’s complaints in a holistic way combining all avenues of redressal into one efficient channel. The OCMS is a 24/7, internet based system connected to all wards of the MCGM as well as the head office. It is ably supported by a 24/7 complaint hotline that was developed jointly by Praja and the MCGM.

Mumbai citizens handbook

Their latest project is to bring out a detailed handbook on the state of governance in Mumbai to further citizens understanding of the working of government – on the ground. The handbook will look at major departments of the MCGM as well as other agencies concerned with civic governance. Each chapter will also have recommendations and reforms for improving governance. These will be based on liberal principles and the concepts of new public management. Praja also seeks to follow up on the recommendations made in the handbook to improve transparency, accountability and better governance in Mumbai city.

Outreach

Praja reach out to citizens in various ways. They have had weekly columns in English, Marathi and Gujarati newspapers. Their Citizen’s Charter was printed and distributed free of cost by the Indian Express newspaper with their daily edition. Their performance reports are published as booklets and distributed to various community-based organisations.