Complaints about lack of supply and dirty water have kept the Delhi Jal Board busy since it launched a mobile application for consumers to send in their grievances a few months ago.
The Android app, ‘DJB’, has been recording Delhiites’ water and sewage-related grievances since August 15. Till December 3, a total of 16,499 complaints were received through the app and 16,170 have been resolved.
28 different categoriesThe app receives complaints under 28 different categories, of which no water, contamination, sewer blockage and sewer overflow have been the major grievances. Of the 3,403 complaints registered under the ‘no water’ category, 3,348 have been resolved.
A total of 2,836 consumers have complained about contaminated or dirty water and 2,782 of these grievances have been addressed. Complaints about blocked sewers so far have been 2,560, of which 2,509 have been resolved. Overflowing sewers account for 1,813 complaints, out of which 1,772 have been addressed. Even problems like missing manhole covers (269 complaints) have been reported through the app.
DJB spokesperson Sanjam Chima said most complaints about contamination could be resolved if consumers maintained and replaced the service pipes of their households.
“About 80 to 90 per cent of dirty water complaints arise as the service lines are old and haven’t been replaced in time,” said Ms. Chima.
She added that detecting the source contamination after receiving a complaint takes long. “Once, it took us weeks of digging to find the contamination as the source was a block away from where the complaint had emanated,” she said.
Quick resolutionDJB officials claimed that most complaints are being resolved in one to three days, while blocked sewers and contamination take longer to address.
After a complaint lands into the system, it is forwarded to the junior engineer concerned. If the engineer does not attend to it within 24 hours, it escalates through the ranks, all the way to the CEO of the Board.
DJB CEO Vijay Kumar said all senior officials were getting daily reports about the complaints lodged through the app and their resolution. The app, which is available for free on Google Play Store, was developed by the Intelligent Communication Systems India Limited (ICSIL).
A business analyst with the ICSIL, Nitin Vinod, said: “From the junior engineer to the CEO, all officers have access to the complaints database. They can monitor the progress from their mobile phones too.”
The DJB has integrated its complaint redress mechanism, with grievances being sent to officials through email getting added to the system.
