Somesh Kumar to clear civic mess

Just 10 days in the office, Somesh Kumar, the new GHMC Commissioner, is restless inspecting ward by ward keeping the officials on toes. He wants to create a sense of accountability among officials. During the daily inspections he found sanitation and bad roads are holding the city back.

Somesh Kumar, the new Commissioner of GHMC, took over the reins from MT Krishna Babu at a crucial time when the Corporation is bracing up for Mayoral elections early next year.

Somesh Kumar is an IAS officer from the 1989 batch. Only 10 days into service, the Commissioner has ensured that all the officials are on their toes. He has been conducting surprise inspections on various services generated by the GHMC.

Explaining his series of inspections, Somesh Kumar said, “It is important to get the field reality of how things take place.” He visited Hyderabad sometime ago but after taking over as the Commissioner, his perspective of looking at things has changed. “This position is a change in perspective which helps me grasp the problems of the common man,” he said.

After every inspection, Somesh makes inspection notes and passes it on to the respective departments. He says, “By doing so, there is a sense of accountability that builds up in the officials.”

Here’s a timeline of his inspections so far:

Hussain Sagar (October 25) : When the city was lashed by incessant downpour, the Commissioner along with the Mayor inspected the Hussain Sagar Lake to make sure that the low-lying areas were away from harm’s reach. Also during the inspection he observed that the safai karamchari’s were using brooms with small handles ultimately forcing them to tax their spine even further. He informed the officials to make sure that they are given brooms with longer handles which will make their work easier.

Citizen’s Charter, Treasury Section and Pension Cell (October 26): The commissioner along with Ronald Rose, additional commissioner, planning, and other officials paid a surprise visit to the Citizen’s Charter Office in the GHMC head office. As part of this check, Somesh Kumar enquired about the functioning of the sections pertaining to property taxes, trade licences, building applications and pension cases. He also asked the staff to be patient with the transactions and help the citizens especially senior citizens.

East Zone and South Zone (October 26): The commissioner inspected the proposed road under-bridge from Kandikal Gate to Chandrayangutta X Roads. He also sought information on the road widening procedure in various areas under the GHMC east zone limits. He interacted with the officials and directed them to expedite works on a priority basis. Somesh then inspected various housing projects laid out by the GHMC and asked the officials to complete them on a war footing basis. He pointed out various minute nuances that were bothering the public like garbage cans on the streets, footpaths in shambles and woes of the road sweepers.

Circle 8 and Circle 10 (October 27): During this inspection, the Commissioner questioned the authorities on the delay in the construction of housing blocks in Kapra Circle and Uppal Circle. He rigorously questioned the superintending engineers for reasons as to why there was a delay in construction. As part of the inspection he also made it clear that the allotment of houses would be made by the GHMC and not the Revenue Department as there was a delay.

Central Zone (October 28): This inspection was a spur of the moment decision by the Commissioner. The Mayor had organised a farewell party for the outgoing commissioner, M T Krishna Babu at Hotel Katriya, Begumpet. After the party, Somesh Kumar called all the officials for an emergency meeting at 11.30 pm at the venue and inspected the roads and sanitation in the central zone.

Muharram Procession Route (October 30): Somesh Kumar accompanied the Mayor Majid Hussain to inspect the procession route for Muharram. He advised that there were a lot of repair works that needed to be taken up to ensure the procession goes off unscathed.

AP Formation Day arrangements (October 30): The Commissioner paid a visit to NTR Stadium, Kavadiguda, to make sure that all the arrangements for the formation day celebrations were in place. On his way, he even pointed out that the roads and footpaths at Tank Bund are in dire need of attention. He also interacted with the sweepers and asked them to relay their problems so that it could be looked upon.

Somesh’s findings from the inspections are, “The roads need to be made worthy of the vehicles. During the inspections, I have learnt where I should dedicate my energies and what the officials need to do. Sanitation and bad roads are holding the city back. The roads need lots of patchwork for the potholes. The people deserve better,” he lamented.

The spree of inspections seems to have made an impact. Siva Parvathi, zonal commissioner, central zone, GHMC said, “The Commissioner was intrigued by the patchwork in this zone. He checked the status and gave a few pointers and it was executed within six hours of his inspection.”

Apart from the inspections Somesh also attended meetings with the employee unions during their strike for enhanced wages. It is said that the Commissioner was pro-active in the meetings and strived to make sure that things got back onto the right track.

With Somesh Kumar leading from the front to make sure that the GHMC staff do not slack in their services, let’s hope that the Commissioner’s initial enthusiasm does not fizzle out.