GHMC call centre by December-end

HYDERABAD: In an attempt to address citizens’ grievances relating to civic amenities effectively, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has begun the process of setting up round-the-clock state-of-the-art call centre at a cost of Rs 1 crore. It would become operational by next month-end.The GHMC has invited Request for Proposals (RFP) from eligible firms for designing, building, operation and maintenance of the call centre under BOOT model. The centre would be established at the City Managers Training Centre (CMTC), Road No.12, Banjara Hills. The bids would be opened on Nov 18.Speaking to Express, GHMC officials said selected agencies should have prior experience of operating a call centre on 24x7 basis. Once established, citizens can register their respective civic complaints with the call centre and receive a registration number after which they would be forwarded to the respective departments.As per the norms in place, the selection of bids will depend on the bidder’s ability to provide man power, maintain equipment and provide services for a minimum of two years. He should also be running one or more call centres with a capacity of 100 for more than 12 months.The GHMC would provide office space for the proposed call centre, meet expenses on power, internet bandwidth and telephone bills besides providing operational plan and escalation matrix. The contract period is three years from the date of signing of the agreement. Currently, the GHMC has a call centre at its head-office but its staff are sourced from outside. Though people call up the toll free numbers, the response has been lukewarm due to the absence of a mechanism to monitor complaints.The proposed call centre will be  be designed for 10 seats with scope for expansion of up to 25 seats. It will also have basic features like capacity to receive 30 concurrent calls, facility of call transfer from one operator to another or to a specialist (GHMC officers CUG) and the facility to record, replay and monitor all calls for a period of 30 days.