A web application is helping Rajasthan’s Udaipur district administration to not only redress public grievances but also reach out to the local populace by involving them in promoting beautification, sanitation, organic farming and start-ups.
What started in May 2014 as an online initiative to register public complaints and seek public participation in beautifying the city of lakes, ‘Action Udaipur’ has expanded into a larger mission of connecting people with each other as well as the administration.
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With the launch of a mobile app in September last year, the project now has more than 7,000 active users who are well connected with the district administration.
“The web-based project delivered very effective results in redressing public grievances related to the administration and received excellent response from the public to associate with beautification projects,” Udaipur District Collector Rohit Gupta said.
“We then launched a mobile app which is not only being efficiently used in timely redressal of complaints, but also to promote beautification, sanitation, organic food and start-ups of the city as well,” he said.
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A team of 11 officers has been deputed to run and monitor the project besides looking after complaints and flaws, if any.
“This app is being used to conduct several activities involving the public and the administration which not only has improved the service delivery but saved time and created synergy between the public and the administration,” the collector said.
Citizens can send in their complaints through the app
which is monitored by the District Administration and the officials concerned. The complainant then gets a notification by SMS after the complaint gets resolved.
Those wishing to contribute in the beautification of public places can send in details along with photos of the place through the app.
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To make it more appealing, components like ‘Stay fit and Go Organic’ and promotion of start-ups have been included recently which are also getting good response.
“To promote young entrepreneurs and start-ups, we are providing them a free platform to share their URL on the app. They can evolve their business through this. The projects that can be taken under community social responsibility have also been listed in the app,” he said.
So, when people spot issues like malfunctioning streetlights, clogged drains or uncollected garbage among other similar civic complaints, all they need to do is use the app to register a complaint.
“Of 5,292 complaints, 4,750 were resolved in a timely manner. 189 works of beautification of gardens, streets, circles, bus stand, road side walls and other public places have been done with active public participation,” the collector said.
Gupta said a novel feature to promote organic farming was added to the app which also received a good response.
“In order to promote organic farming, we have roped in the Krishi Vigyan Kendra which provide resources and technical assistance to those who are interested. Awareness camps have also been organised and this all is being coordinated through the app,” he said.
Within a short span of time, he said, more than 1,500 facilities have started growing organic food in the city of lakes.
“Several public health awareness camps and other activities are being regularly held by public participation with the help of the app,” he added.