One may not expect it necessary for any civic administration to specifically instruct its employees to be civil to the general public. Strangely, that’s exactly what is happening at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), after commissioner Shravan Hardikar issued a circular on June 15 to all civic departments, asking staffers to behave politely with citizens and attend to them with courtesy whenever they visit any offices or PCMC-run establishments.Interestingly, the missive said it had been noted that civic staffers of a few departments were not available at their place most of the time, forcing citizens to wait for hours to get their work done, such as applying for licenses, certificates, permissions, registering complaints, submitting applications, pursuing Right to Information (RTI) Act queries, etc. Hardikar explained to Mirror, “It has been observed that citizens coming to various PCMC departments repeatedly have not been getting their receipts on time; often, civic staffers ask them to come again later to collect papers or sign documents. We had also seen delays when it comes to responding to mails from citizens. It is the primary duty of every civic staffer to attend to all citizens with respect and resolve their issues.”The municipal chief said he had also been receiving complaints about inattentive employees. In his circular, Hardikar also stated that if any staff member is found wandering away from his/her place, strict action will follow, adding that no one is allowed to move from their desk unnecessarily. Further, he has mandated that all letters, applications, complaints, etc. must be received via a one-window system only.Most citizens Mirror spoke to about the development were pleased by this initiative. George Paul, a 70-year-old resident of Nigdi Pradhikaran, said, “I really welcome this decision. It is a fact that civic staffers never treat citizens with respect, especially at ward offices. Recently, I went to Nigdi ward office, seeking permission to cut branches from a tree in my compound before the monsoon. I was asked to submit an application to the tree department, but most employees were arrogant and the official concerned was missing. For a person of my age to make repeated trips for such work is difficult. After I followed up for 15 days, finally I got the permission and receipt. Admittedly, PCMC has some online systems for such applications, but at my age, I really don’t know how to operate them.”Akurdi resident Anita Kale chimed in, “For the last two months, we have been receiving water supply at a very low pressure. But, I found it most difficult to register a complaint. I looked up the numbers of the officials online, but no one was willing to give me helpful information. So much time is wasted just to connect to the department concerned when citizens have issues.”Pimpri-Chinchwad Citizens’ Forum convener, Amol Deshpande, said, “This move makes one recall the work of the popular former PCMC commissioner, Dr Shrikar Pardeshi. During one meeting with citizens, he had said, ‘We (the government) are doing no favours to the public by serving it. The latter is doing us a favour by giving us this opportunity.’ Hardikar’s circular reflects this vision, too, and will go miles in helping build a good rapport between citizens and civic officials.”