NDMC to connect offices via video conferencing

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation will connect its zonal offices with headquarters through video conferencing to speed up its decision-making process. NDMC municipal commissioner, senior officials and top political leadership at the Civic Centre, the headquarters of the municipal body, will be connected to senior officers at each of the six zones.

According to NDMC Leader of House Vijay Prakash Pandey, time is wasted when officers posted at the zonal offices travel to the headquarters to get approval for work related to civic services. “By connecting the headquarters with the zonal offices through video conferencing, we can not only save this travel time but also save money spent on fuel,” said Mr Pandey.

As per the plan, the facilities will be made available to mayor, chairman standing committee and leader of house. However, the video conferencing facility will not be made available to the Leader of Opposition. “Mayor, chairman (standing committee) and Leader of House are part of day-to-day decision-making process with executive wings so the facility will be available at their offices, however, Leader of Opposition on important issues can avail of the services from any one of these three offices,” added Mr Pandey.

Apart from political leadership at the headquarters, the video conferencing facility will be available to the municipal commissioners, additional commissioners and heads of different departments. The NDMC plans to spend over Rs 20 crore for complete setup to connect headquarters and zonal offices.

Explaining the need for such a facility, Mr Pandey told this newspaper that “deputy commissioner or other officers from zones have to travel all the way to the NDMC HQ to attend meetings and many times these meetings get delayed as they caught in traffic.