Pramesh S Jain
*Citizens at the centre of grievance redressal; Road Infrastructure Management System-RIMS to bring all road works onto one digital platform.
*From complaint registration to road-work monitoring, GBA moves towards one integrated digital platform.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) is developing ‘Sahaya 3.0’,an upgraded digital grievance-redressal platform aimed at making it easier for citizens to lodge complaints while ensuring greater transparency, accountability and effectiveness in their resolution, Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a consultation with citizens on ‘Sahaya 3.0’ and the Road Infrastructure Management System (RIMS) at the GBA headquarters,the Minister said the government was seeking direct feedback from citizens and experts before rolling out the upgraded platform.
Several improvements have already been made to the existing ‘Sahaya 2.0’system,and further features are now being incorporated into Sahaya 3.0. 
The objective, he said,is to make the platform easier for citizens to use and to ensure that every stage of a complaint—from registration to final resolution and closure is visible to the citizen,while responsibility is clearly fixed on the concerned officials.
One of the proposed improvements is the facility to submit a voice note along with photographs and location details,allowing citizens to report problems without having to type out a complaint.This will make complaint registration faster and more accessible,he said.
“The purpose of this consultation is to hear directly from citizens and experts and incorporate the best suggestions into Sahaya 3.0,”the Minister said.
Towards a single digital platform for civic works:
Krishna Byre Gowda said the lack of coordination between different government departments has been one of the longstanding challenges in managing Bengaluru’s infrastructure.
To address this,the government is developing an integrated portal bringing together different departments and their infrastructure works.
Data is currently being collected under the Road Infrastructure Management System (RIMS),and an appropriate name will be given to the larger integrated portal shortly.
The portal is intended to improve coordination between agencies undertaking road construction,pipeline laying, electrical cable works and other infrastructure projects.
Information on any major road or infrastructure work should ideally be entered into the system at least six months before the work begins,he said.
This would enable better inter-departmental coordination while also allowing citizens to plan their own activities around upcoming works.
The Minister said Bengaluru should not require separate systems for reporting potholes, street-light problems and other civic issues,or for planning and monitoring infrastructure works.
“There should be one integrated system through which citizen complaints can be received and resolved, works can be planned and monitored,data can be managed and payment generation can be handled at the backend,” he said.
Sahaya 3.0: Making every stage of grievance redressal visible:
The existing Sahaya 2.0 platform provides an integrated digital grievance-redressal system with mobile-based complaint registration,assignment of complaints to designated officials,Service Level Agreement (SLA)-based resolution and a three-level appeal mechanism.
Sahaya 3.0 is being developed by adding new features to the existing system,with two key objectives:making it easier for citizens to register complaints and strengthening transparency and accountability at every stage of grievance redressal.
The proposed improvements include:
Support for Indian languages, enabling citizens to register complaints in multiple Indian languages.
Voice-based complaint registration,allowing citizens to lodge complaints without typing.
Low-bandwidth access, enabling smoother use even where internet connectivity is poor.
Anonymous complaints in select cases,where appropriate,without disclosing the identity of the complainant.
Simplified reopening of complaints that have not been satisfactorily resolved.
Citizen confirmation before closure, ensuring that a complaint is not closed without confirmation that the issue has been resolved.
A public performance dashboard providing transparent information on complaints received, resolved and pending.
Automated SLA alerts to ensure that officials are alerted before prescribed resolution timelines are breached.
Clear identification of responsible officials for every complaint.
Standardised field inspections to enable consistent verification of the actual status of complaints on the ground.
Through Sahaya 3.0,the GBA aims to ensure that citizens can track the entire journey of a complaint,from registration and action taken to final resolution and closure,while making the concerned officials more directly accountable for its resolution.
RIMS to bring road works,investment and road history onto one platform:
The Road Infrastructure Management System (RIMS) has been developed as a digital platform for comprehensive management of road assets,funding and infrastructure works within the GBA.
Integrated with the city’s GIS-based road network,RIMS will enable all road works to be recorded and their progress updated and monitored on a weekly basis.
It will also maintain a complete ‘Road History’,allowing officials and citizens to see the works previously undertaken on a particular road.
Through an interactive map,citizens will be able to view information on ongoing as well as proposed road works in their vicinity in real time.
RIMS currently contains information on five years of road works—from 2022-23 to 2026-27,including the current financial year—across the five municipal corporations under the GBA.
The system contains information on more than 2,000 km of road works and details of ₹9,151 crore in funding provided through various government sources.
*Focus on accuracy, efficiency and transparency*
The RIMS platform is also intended to reduce errors and inconsistencies in road-work data, improve workflow and eventually integrate AI-based technologies to strengthen road development planning,work monitoring, investment prioritisation and public transparency.
The larger objective is to bring planning, execution, monitoring and public disclosure of road works together on a single digital platform,thereby making the management of Bengaluru’s road infrastructure more efficient, coordinated and transparent.
The meeting was attended by Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao,Municipal Commissioners,Ramesh D.S., G.Jagadeesh,Ramesh K.N.and Dr.Rajendra K.V.,Deputy Commissioner,Gayathri Naik,citizens and other officials.
