I am always in awe at the BMC’s relentless pursuit of excellence. This isn’t immediately obvious if one looks at the way it manages civic infrastructure, education, water supply, roads, waste management, administrative tasks, or basic governance, among other things, but what I refer to is its unshaken belief that technology can bring change. I can picture its officers all hunched over their machines, constantly scouring the internet for news on technological developments that can be adopted to improve everyone’s life in Bombay. It is that spirit of innovation that prompted a former chief minister — I can’t recall which one because there were similar promises made by his predecessors and successors — to declare that this city would turn into Shanghai or Singapore within a few years.

That belief is glaringly obvious whenever one looks at intersections where technology and the BMC meet. Take its official website, for example, which is a cutting-edge shining star on the World Wide Web, offering the kind of user experience all government organisations around the world should try and replicate. It may take you a day or two, but you will eventually find what you’re looking for.

The reason I bring up technology this time is a recent announcement that may or may not have come to your attention. Apparently, while residents of Bombay have been occupied with trying to walk the streets without tripping, the BMC has been hard at work transforming healthcare services. Naturally, like anyone who has ever lived in this city, my first question was whether these services needed to be transformed at all. Who amongst us has walked into a BMC hospital or dispensary and not applauded? How can these efficient models get any better?