Agra, best known for the world-famous monument of love- the Taj Mahal- also happens to be a particularly busy and chaotic district. With tourists coming from all over the country to appreciate and soak in the historical culture of the place, Agra’s people and administration are always on their toes to provide them with comfort and good management.
Looking at their commendable management style and good quality work, Agra recently received ISO 9001: 2015 certification, the credit of which goes to IAS officer Ms. M Arunmozhi. It was mainly because of her diligent work and efforts that the city of Taj got figured in the privileged league of ISO certifications.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Ms. Arunmozhi talks about her projects and initiatives.
RECEIVING ISO 9001: 2015
ISO 9001:2015 specifies requirements to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and continually improve a documented management system used to manage quality. The certification focuses on Quality Management System (QMS).
Posted as the Sub Divisional Magistrate in Sadar Tehsil Office of Agra, Ms. Arunmozhi realized that the infrastructure had already been established in the administration; therefore she decided to organize the file management system in the place.
“For that, I called consultants from Gwalior who guided us on how to improve the management system. We organized the files and allotted numbers to the files, the racks they were put in, and the cupboards they were kept in. There was an entire coding system,” Ms. Arunmozhi told Indian Masterminds.
She also worked on other issues pertaining to the city such as collection problems, the broken infrastructure of some buildings, etc. Soon after, the ISO team came to the city for verification, approved the quality standards, and proudly presented the city and Ms. Arunmozhi with the 9001: 2015 certifications.
WORK IN FARRUKHABAD
Ms. Arunmozhi has now been transferred as the Chief Development Officer in Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh which is a comparatively under-developed city than Agra and is an entirely different place to work in.
The officer is focusing on uplifting and providing employment to the self-help groups of the district. She has identified 5-6 Self Help Groups (SHGs) per `gram panchayat’ and is planning to employ them in solar light manufacturing units.
“These groups are into ‘papad’-making, tailoring, community toilet management, selling groceries, distributing ration to ‘anganwadis’, banking correspondence, etc. We are trying to streamline them and have already begun training them,” Ms. Arunmozhi told Indian Masterminds.
‘PRERNA’ CANTEEN
While posted in the Sadar Tehsil office in Agra Ms. Arunmozhi came up with the idea of establishing ‘Prerna’ canteens in all the government offices of the district.
“The canteen is entirely run by self-help group women. They come to the offices, cook meals with whatever basic items they have, and sell their food at a nominal cost. I launched the canteen in Sadar Tehsil and now I am making one in Farrukhabad as well,” says Ms. Arunmozhi.
The 2017 batch officer’s efforts to get ISO certification for Agra bore sweet fruits and her hard work in other districts is also garnering her accolades.
