Prior to the initiative, the complaint redressal mechanism was very poor. People used to lodge complaints at Vijayawada Municipal Corporation's (VMC) main office. These in turn were transferred to the concerned circle offices located at different parts of the town, and then handed over to the concerned case workers. The time taken from the lodging of a complaint to its rectification was around 7 to 10 days, which caused inconvenience to the customers. A hotline (103) complaint cell was established at the VMC office to redress the complaint in minimum time.
The 103 hotline facility was established by VMC to lodge and redress complaints efficiently. All complaints registered either over phone, e-mail or personal representation are immediately communicated to the concerned engineers (from the top-most to the bottom-most supervisory officer) by SMS immediately. These complaints were also placed in the VMC website. The complaints are generally rectified within 24 hours and the status of the complaints are regularly reviewed by senior officers. A feedback form is collected from the customer after the rectification of the problem.

• The process reduced delay in attending to complaints, which are redressed within a day.
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Considerable savings in time

The initiative will be sustainable only if the process is managed efficiently with stringent procedures, effective monitoring, transparency and team work. There is no mention about the action to be taken if the complaint is not redressed within a given time, and the specific time frame for complaint redressal, which are very critical for sustainability. Can be well replicated.

For further details, contact:

Mr. Gulzar, IAS
Municipal Commissioner,
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation