Govt's cleanliness app a big hit

New Delhi - The common man seems to be making good use of his empowerment by means of the app

By CP Surendran

Published: Sun 18 Jun 2017, 9:52 PM

Last updated: Sun 18 Jun 2017, 11:59 PM

A little over three years ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped up India's cleanliness drive with the Swachh Bharat campaign, not many thought it would get anywhere in a country as vast and chaotic as India.

Of late this is changing. Besides more active presence of people on the roads with brooms and mops, and cleaner looking public places like railway stations, the efforts seem to be bearing fruit.

About a year ago the central government launched Swachhata-MoUD app to resolve sanitation-related grievances. The app allows the public to launch a complaint and audit action from the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD).

How it works

After a complaint is lodged, it goes to the central server. Then it goes to the respective civic agency for action. The complainant is informed at each stage about the status. If it's not addressed within the given time frame, the matter is escalated. And a higher bureaucrat enters the scene.

Once the complaint is resolved, the agency concerned puts an updated photograph as proof. If the complainant is still not satisfied, he can reopen the complaint.

The common man seems to be making good use of his empowerment by means of the app. So far 1.1 million complaints have been lodged using the app in the past 10 months for issues including delay in clearing of bins, arrival of garbage vehicles or removal of dead animals, and more than 85 per cent of these complaints are shown as resolved. That action taken with a measure of promptitude is in keeping with the general trend of the Modi government.
While three cities from Madhya Pradesh - Gwalior, Jabalpur and Ratlam - have excelled in resolving issues quickly, the municipal bodies of Delhi rank below 100 among 1,784 civic bodies that are linked to the app. Mumbai and Navi Mumbai rank 39 and 44, respectively while Chennai ranks 66 in the list.

"This dynamic ranking of cities happens on daily basis based on the responsiveness of agencies, citizens' feedback and user engagement. The time frame of resolving grievances has been fixed for each type of complaint. Each civic agency is aware about the service level agreements," said an urban development ministry official.

Nearly 40 per cent of the complaints are regarding delay in clearing garbage dumps and similar problems like unswept roads, and clogged gutters. Most complaints are meant to be resolved within 12 hours of lodging them. In cases like clearing dead animals, the time frame is 48 hours.