‘Swachh Delhi’ app gets more features

Aimed at seeking the public’s assistance in dealing with alarming levels of air pollution in the city, the Delhi government relaunched the “Swachh Delhi” app with additional features on Wednesday. According to the government, citizens can register complaints against garbage, plastic, dry leaves burning in the open, polluting vehicles and industries, and construction sites causing dust pollution through the app.

Relaunching the mobile application, which can be downloaded on Google Play store, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said that the “Swachh Delhi” app has been updated considering the hike in air pollution in Delhi in last few days. In December last year, the AAP government had launched this app to enable residents to apprise authorities of unclean areas of the city. The government will be monitoring the complaints on a daily basis throughout the winter season which has witnessed a rise in air pollution.

“Now citizens of Delhi can capture images of offending vehicles causing air pollution and other related activities like burning of leaves, plastic and old tyres, unattended garbage dumps and also construction waste. This will be forwarded to the concerned department and teams will be immediately dispatched to resolve the problem,” Mr Sisodia said.

“We need the help of our citizens for tackling this problem at the ground level. Sanitation inspectors will supervise this procedure. This is why this app will be very useful,” he said, adding that in fact if any issue is not resolved properly then the sanitation inspectors will be asked for an official explanation.”

“A fine will be imposed on them which they will have to pay from their own salary. We are finalising legalities to ensure an SDM (sub-divisional magistrate) oversees this entire process,” the deputy chief minister said.

The urban development department will track important statistics and data like how many complaints are being lodged and which areas have maximum complaints. Senior officials from MCDs and concerned agencies have been roped in to keep a strict eye on how their field staffs are responding to these complaints. The citizen, after capturing pictures of garbage, malba, and any kind of pollution, can send it to the app. “The complaint will be received through registered mobile number with unique ID at the central monitoring system,” said a senior government official.

Two dedicated staff has also been deployed in the urban development department for prompt forwarding of complaints to the concerned agencies from 8 am to 8 pm. The deputy CM will monitor the status on a daily basis and continuous and comprehensive evaluation will be done for effective use of the app.