Maharashtra minister asks BMC to use AI for monitoring tender variations

Mumbai, May 6 Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister and Maharashtra Minister for Electronics, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Ashish Shelar on Wednesday directed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology be used to make the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) tendering process free from human intervention, thereby ensuring greater transparency.

He said AI-driven systems would help monitor “variations” in tenders and significantly improve efficiency and accountability in project execution.

Following the State Cabinet’s approval of Maharashtra’s Artificial Intelligence Policy, the Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence has initiated focused measures for its effective implementation.

In this context, Minister Shelar convened a high-level joint meeting at the Sahyadri Guest House.

The meeting was attended by BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, MahaIT Director Sanjay Katkar, Information Technology Department Director Bhuvaneshwari and other concerned civic officials.

During the meeting, the BMC gave a presentation on the current use of AI in its day-to-day operations.

Officials explained that AI is being used to bring transparency to drain-cleaning operations and improve efficiency and accountability in civic services.

BMC officials also informed the meeting that citizens’ complaints are being collected at ward offices through AI-enabled chatbot systems.

Minister Shelar directed officials to further expand the use of AI in civic administration.

He proposed a system in which a citizen’s complaint, once spoken, would be video-recorded and automatically forwarded to the concerned department for immediate action.

He also instructed the BMC to adopt “e-file” and “e-signature” systems to move towards paperless administration, on the lines of the model implemented at Mantralaya under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The Minister laid special emphasis on transparency in the tendering process, observing that “variations” are frequently introduced in BMC tenders.

He directed that AI tools be used to monitor and regulate such variations.

According to him, this would allow citizens to access information on completed works while also enabling AI systems to verify whether decisions relating to variations were justified.

Minister Shelar also proposed organising a “Hackathon” to encourage greater participation of youth in BMC administrative processes and bring fresh and modern perspectives into city governance.

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