MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday called for a change in the “complacent” mindset within the administration, referring to those who believe they have “run Mumbai for so many years” and question how someone “coming from outside” can run the city.Fadnavis was speaking at the launch of the BMC’s ‘Participate Mumbai’ initiative, a digital partnership platform aimed at increasing the participation of citizens, businesses, NGOs and experts in the city’s development process.It was the CM’s first visit to the BMC headquarters since the BJP came to power in the Mumbai civic body.“We have been following this process for many years. Who are you to teach us now after coming from outside? We have run Mumbai for so many years, so how will you run Mumbai after coming from outside?” Fadnavis said, describing this as a mindset that needed to be broken.His remarks led to discussions within civic and political circles, with some interpreting them as a reference to former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Fadnavis, however, did not name anyone.He said systems and processes created 30-40 years ago could not necessarily remain relevant in a changing city and hence an MoU with Samagra, aimed at improving service delivery, simplifying administrative processes and enhancing efficiency, would be beneficial.“Time waits for no one. What is truly important is to change with time,” he said, stressing the need to review old procedures and make them simpler, faster and more efficient.Fadnavis said citizens today expected government services and grievance redressal to be delivered quickly, including when complaints were raised on social media. “Instead of making superficial changes, we need to identify and remove shortcomings across the entire delivery system,” he said.He cited a review of around 1,100 online services offered by the Maharashtra government, saying nearly 200 were found to have very little usage. Only around 45-47 services and schemes accounted for nearly 90% of citizen interactions with the government, he said. The government was therefore working to re-engineer these key services to make their delivery more effective.Fadnavis also referred to the BMC’s AI-based building proposal approval system and said he wanted to see a system where building proposals could eventually be cleared with “zero human intervention”. He said technology and artificial intelligence should be used to make civic administration more transparent, efficient and responsive.Fadnavis also said the BMC had undertaken significant work in infrastructure, but there was a need for more effective interventions in education, healthcare and nutrition.Malnutrition, stunting and wasting among children continue to be seen in some parts of the city, particularly in slums and poorer settlements. CSR partnerships should be effectively used to ensure that nutrition reaches children in these areas, he said.During the event, Hindustan Unilever also handed over Rs 25 crore in CSR funding to the BMC for setting up 10 new Suvidha centres across Mumbai.
