June 26, 2025: Weeks after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) launched the Pothole QuickFix app to enable residents to report and monitor pothole complaints, former corporators have criticised the civic body for failing to provide real-time transparency. In a letter addressed to civic commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on Wednesday, former Colaba corporator Makarand Narwekar described the app as lacking basic accountability and public visibility.
Narwekar highlighted that the application does not offer ward-wise or city-wide data regarding reported, repaired, or pending potholes, thus undermining the objective of encouraging citizen participation in civic governance. “In the absence of elected representatives, transparency becomes all the more essential,” he said, pointing out that A Ward in South Mumbai continues to suffer from widespread potholes.
Since 2022, the BMC has been administered by appointed bureaucrats, with municipal elections delayed due to legal proceedings over ward demarcations and quota allocations. Narwekar questioned whether the absence of visible data reflects an intentional effort to obscure administrative lapses in pre-monsoon preparedness.
Former opposition leader in the BMC, Ravi Raja, also voiced concerns, criticising the mobile application for being non-functional and failing to promote genuine accountability. “Rather than an app, there should be a website that provides real-time updates on potholes,” he said.
Narwekar has called for the urgent integration of a live public dashboard into the QuickFix platform, one that would display up-to-date information across all wards. “This will foster public trust and enforce accountability among engineers and officials. Without such transparency, the app becomes a smokescreen for inefficiency,” he warned.
In response, Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar stated that the data would be made public within seven to ten days. “The app was launched recently, and we are in the process of putting the information in the public domain,” he confirmed.
Source: Hindustan Times
