Technical glitches like 5,000 complaints getting registered under the same phone number, and low redressal rates have dogged the Swachh Delhi app in the first week after it was launched.
The Delhi Government and municipal corporations had come together to launch the sanitation-related grievance redressal app on November 16. As of Tuesday evening, about 25,000 complaints of garbage or malba lying on the streets of Delhi had been received.
“Of the 25,000 complaints, 24,000 have been forwarded to the civic bodies to be addressed. Currently, the redressal rate is between 5 and 50 per cent, depending on the agency,” said Sandeep Mishra, the Additional Secretary of the Urban Development Department, who is overseeing the app’s central control room.
Though the app has gained in popularity with about 60,000 downloads, as per Mr. Mishra, there are teething troubles with its functioning.
On Monday, about 5,000 complaints were logged under the phone number of an assistant sanitary inspector of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Najafgarh Zone. The complainants were getting a message that their grievance had been registered, but the system was registering the ASI who forwarded the complaints. Mr. Mishra clarified that the glitch had been rectified.
The BJP-led corporations seem to have put aside their differences over funds with the Delhi Government to work together on the sanitation drive.
“We don’t want to engage in political mudslinging. There are issues with the app like incorrect addresses or GPS locations. We are coordinating with the government to make it smoother,” said Ashish Sood, the Leader of the House in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
The app works with users uploading a picture of garbage or malba with the latitude and longitude of the location. The complaints are then sorted into malba, which is being cleared by the PWD, and garbage that the civic bodies lift.
The Opposition Congress has blamed the differences between the BJP and the AAP for the problems with the app and the sanitation drive.
“The app was prepared in haste. There is a shadow boxing match between the BJP and the AAP, due to which the complaints are unaddressed,” said Farhad Suri, the Leader of the Opposition of the SDMC.
