Gurgaon: In a move that has touched off criticism and renewed debate over MCG’s spending priorities, the civic body has floated a tender to procure premium smartphones for councillors.The phone numbers will be made public so that residents can directly contact their elected representative. Under the plan — Rs 32-lakh tender for 40 premium smartphones — each councillor will also be issued a SIM card. According to the tender estimate, each smartphone will cost around Rs 80,000 and will be issued to 36 elected councillors, the mayor and three nominated councillors.While the proposal has drawn scrutiny from residents and civic activists, who question the need for “high-end devices funded through public money”, MCG officials have defended the move saying the purchase follows an existing practice and is aimed at improving administrative efficiency. Officials said the smartphones are intended to “streamline ward-level governance and speed up grievance redressal”. According to officials, councillors were also provided mobile phones during the previous tenure. A senior MCG official said, “With the devices, councillors will be able to manage files digitally, document development works through photographs and videos and access govt applications more efficiently.”This will help maintain records of complaints and improve coordination between councillors and the civic administration, “enabling faster resolution of ward-level issues”, MCG officials added.
