BMC ties up with EY for Participate Mumbai Initiative

Mumbai: The BMC Standing Committee on Friday approved the appointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as a consultant for the Participate Mumbai Initiative, under which a comprehensive and integrated digital platform has been created to bring together citizens, NGOs, local groups and the corporate sector in Mumbai. According to the civic body, many individuals are willing to contribute to social welfare but lack awareness about the challenges the city faces and the ways in which they can participate or utilise their skills, time and resources. Participate Mumbai will provide citizens with an easy opportunity to engage in various social activities such as cleanliness drives, tree plantation campaigns, health camps, educational support programmes and awareness initiatives, based on their interests, skills and availability. The platform will not be limited to volunteerism. It will also serve as an effective medium for social contribution initiatives and awareness campaigns on important social issues. In addition, it will enable companies to directly connect with verified, high-impact municipal projects, ensuring proper planning, faster implementation and effective execution of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.The BMC noted that there is currently no centralised, coherent and reliable mechanism for the effective and transparent implementation of projects, particularly CSR initiatives. As a result, companies often have to spend considerable time and resources identifying suitable, verified and impactful projects. Similarly, citizens and donors find it difficult to access clear information about the actual impact of their contributions. The absence of a one-window online system that provides all relevant information at a single place leads to duplication of efforts, wastage of resources and limits the achievement of broader social impact.Participate Mumbai aims to address these challenges by bringing together citizens, NGOs, local groups and the corporate sector on a single platform. Information about activities requiring volunteers and support will be available through one digital interface, reducing procedural complexities and building trust among stakeholders. A real-time monitoring and reporting system will enable citizens and organisations to track the impact of their contributions, thereby enhancing transparency and accountability.