Delhi to have single helpline for civic grievances by 2017: Kejriwal

The Delhi government is planning a one-stop helpline for Delhiites, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said. But the helpline will have to wait till the municipal polls in 2017 which the AAP is hoping to win.

"We are planing a single helpline for people. But that will have to wait till we win the corporation elections in 2017," Kejriwal told IANS at the Delhi secretariat.

Kejriwal said he realised that a majority of civic complaints are related to grievances against the local corporations. But very few knew, he said, that the Delhi government had no control over these corporations -- the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation - which are run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"But we keep getting the blame as people think that having voted us to power with such a large majority, we should be able to solve their problems," Kejriwal said.

He also said that people, not knowing where to call, end up calling the wrong departmental helplines and were shunted around.

"People don't know where to call. If the problem is related to MCD, they call up PWD. The helpline will be started only after we win the MCD poll," Kejriwal stated.

"The call made at this (proposed) helpline will be forwarded to other departments depending on the nature of the grievance," he added.

Presently, the Delhi government's Anti-Corruption Helpline -- 1031-- is among the most dialled ones. The Women's Helpline -- 181 -- is another service run by the city government. There are also helplines related to water and power woes.

Delhi's three main municipal corporation are controlled by the BJP. The elections to these civic bodies are due in early 2017.

With an eye on these polls, Kejriwal, along with his ministers, addressed a big rally of sanitations workers last week, assuring them that their grievances would be addressed once he came to power in civic bodies too.

"I assure you that we have a lot of ideas and we can turn the municipal corporations into a profitable civic agency within one year," Kejriwal told the rally on Monday, alluding to the loss-making corporations and their inability to pay the salaries of sanitations workers, particularly in east and north Delhi, who have resorted to piling up garbage on the streets in protest.

"Though we are not ruling the corporations - east, north and south corporations - we are ready to help the BJP-led corporations," he declared.

He also generously announced an advance of Rs.500 crore to the cash-strapped north and east corporations to enable them to pay the salaries of sanitation workers and other employees.