GHMC blames R&B and Highways for all bad roads

Mohammad Majid Hussain, is not your run-of-the-mill, politician. At 33, he is the youngest Mayor in the country. He was working in a BPO before joining the MIM and becoming a corporator in 2009. Majid, has a keen interest in philanthropy, which reflects in his style of work. In a candid interview to Hyderabad Hans, Majid Hussain talks about what drives him, his vision and his efforts to turn the GHMC into an efficient organisation. He defends the GHMC, saying that bad roads belong only to the Roads and Buildings, and National Highways Departments

Lata Jain

You are the youngest mayor of the country in years. How is the going? What are the qualities required to succeed?

When the going becomes tough, the tough gets going. I am the youngest mayor of the country and it is my privilege. I had to struggle in the beginning as I did not have a political background. GHMC was running into losses to the tune of Rs 480 Cr which came to me as a surprise, when they elected me as a Mayor. Whether in business, or politics, a successful man is one of action. Making difficult decisions and acting on them is only a fundamental quality to succeed and I strongly worked towards it. If you are not a natural-born leader, you must learn to be confident; it takes serious commitment and hard work. Surrounding yourself with the best people is a well-documented part of success. I share an interest in philanthropy and human development. Having an unstoppable momentum, and learned leadership skills are the forces which drive me to make the city beautiful, green and livelier.

“Celebration is a part of life, but one should also be responsible towards the community, city and the environment”, were your words during a workshop on a green pilgrimage. Are you following the same principle this Vinayak Chaturthi and will the public follow you?

India is a secular country. Each individual has a right to his belief, religion and country. But we need fresh air and water to survive. Saving the while environment keeping our belief firm is important. The most serious impact of the Ganesh festival on the natural environment is due to the immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris into lakes, rivers and the sea. However, as the production of Ganesh idols on a commercial basis grew, the earthen or natural clay were replaced by Plaster of Paris. Plaster is a man made material, easier to mould, lighter and less expensive than clay. However, plaster takes much longer to dissolve and in the process of dissolution releases toxic elements into the water body. The chemical paints used to adorn these plaster idols; themselves contain heavy metals like mercury and cadmium. On the final day of the Ganesh festival, thousands of plaster idols are immersed into water bodies by devotees. These increase the level of acidity in the water and the content of heavy metals. We have appealed to the public to use eco-friendly Ganeshas and avoid colour and use of plastic.

Roads are bad. There are stray dogs and mosquitoes breeding everywhere. Are you looking for solutions for the problems?

There is misinformation that there are bad roads. The 290 kms roads belonging to the GHMC are being well maintained. Contractors have been penalised, contracts and licensees have been cancelled. The bad roads belong to the Roads and Buildings and National Highways. We have written to the Chief Minister's office. Several representations have been made as public and media believes it’s the fault of the GHMC. On stray dogs, we are stuck between animal rights activists and people. Mosquitoes are breeding at places which are not under GHMC limits- Osmania University, Tolichowki and Dabeerpura. There is a sanction of Rs 10cr for dengue control. We have infrastructure, but the coordination with the other areas is reason for the breeding of larvae.

What is the “hidden political agenda” behind the latest expansion of 15 gram panchayats and implementing GO 407?

I do not know of any political agenda but we unanimously objected to this expansion. Almost all the parties objected to this decision. We do not have man power, we are lacking in staff. We never wanted any expansion as we do not have the infrastructure. We should develop the area which is under the limits of GHMC and then think of expansion. The GO cannot be reversed and GO 407 means immediate effect. Honestly I am against this decision.

As in the movie ‘Nayak’, you made a surprise visit to your call centre. Do you follow up even now or was it only for that day?

I have a background in BPO. I worked for a call centre of HSBC for 4 years. I am aware of the lacunae in call centres. I wish they followed six sigma qualities in GHMC call centers too. I made a sudden visit and understood that the call centre was not following grievances and closing the call without addressing the problem. Now I collect weekly reports, make random calls to check if the calls are being closed genuinely or the call centers and GHMC officials are closing the loop without the satisfaction of the complainant.

Has it been difficult for you to function after the snapping of ties of MIM with the congress?

No, it had no impact. I am doing my duty and people appreciate my work so why will political ties have an impact? Today everyone wants growth and I work hard. My department is happy, public is receiving support to the complaints and solutions are giving them the confidence. Political ties have had no impact and I am here to complete my tenure with your support, I mean media, the support of my party leaders, my officials and the public.

Corruption and GHMC are synonymous. Do you agree?

The world is corrupt, not just the GHMC. But we are working to help the needy and underprivileged. We have Praja Vani and face to face programmes to help the public. I am available at various offices. I move among people. We have been having zonal level and circle level meetings. Reports and regular updation on computers is being done to create transparency and efficiency in the department. On land issues, people can come and meet us, give information in confidence. The commissioner and myself will personally inspect the issue. Laws are very stringent and our officers have regular meetings to meet our staff needs so they don’t resort to corrupt practices.

Launch of digital birth certificate was the first of its kind in the country but its database is from year 2000. What about the data before that?

We realised that people were going through lot of hardships for birth certificate. We interacted with hospitals and made it easier for people to get birth certificates. The hospital provides us data and GHMC sends the birth certificate to an individual’s residence with wishes from the commissioner and myself. We are working on uploading the data before the year 2000. It may take some time.

GHMC seems to have gone ahead with the project of sanitation with Ramky. Does GHMC lack staff and infrastructure and is it why you have outsourced the project?

The GHMC has decided to hand over door-to-door collection and transportation of garbage to Ramky's Hyderabad Integrated Solid Waste Management (HISWM). To begin with, two zones - south and central - among the five zones of the corporation would be handed over to Ramky. Such is the situation that the civic body has no cost reductions to show even when it became clear that only 3,100 tones was reaching the dumpyards everyday against 3,800 tones, as believed earlier. GHMC also does not want to spend majorly either on new vehicles or technology for better sanitation as entire infrastructure has to be handed over if the deal has to be implemented.

After the Jawahar Nagar dump yard incident, we outsourced the job to Ramky for that area and they are doing a good job. There is resistance from the union, but we are holding discussions.

Could you please tell us about your education, family and hobbies?

I come from a middle class family and always liked helping people. My schooling is from St Theresa and BCA and MCA from Anwar-Ul-Loom. I worked for HSBC for four-and-a-half-years before becoming the corporator of Ahmednagar. My father M H Maqsood is a retired physical director and mother, Qaisar Jahan is a retired government school head mistress. My wife, Yeda Juvaria Azmath is a housewife and we are blessed with a daughter, Ayesha Haala. I read a lot of books on personality development and am found of browsing the net in leisure hours-which is very rare. My elder brother, Mohammed Shakir Hussain lives in Chicago and works for the Insurance Giant, Allstate Insurance. My bhabhi is a BDS doctor.