The Indian Express                27.05.2013

Have a civic problem? Click a photo

The municipal corporations are looking at providing an option that allows residents to upload a photograph of any civic work related complaint on the corporation website and the agency will get down to the job immediately.

The Delhi government has directed all civic agencies in Delhi to make their complaint book available online. This, officials said, will help keep a tab on the work done by field staff and allow residents to register their complaints easily.

But the e-governance system of the municipal corporations is still in the streamlining stage, and residents of areas under the three agencies will have to wait. On the other hand, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has already got in place an internal system to track the field staff and work done by them through GPRS-enabled devices.

After NDMC officials address a problem, they click a photograph of the work done. The photo is uploaded on the system and the headquarters matches the time and place.

The three municipal corporations, too, are looking to getting a similar complaint and feedback system in place. The project — Off Site Real Time (OSRT) system — aims at improving the functioning of field staff.

A senior official of NDMC said the agency is planning to allow people to access OSRT system.

"We will give a free application, which can be downloaded on android phones. Anyone can click picture of garbage not cleaned, roads potholed and other grievances and it will be addressed within few hours," the official said.

According to a senior official at a corporation, Delhi Chief Secretary has asked the civic agencies to use technology to keep the city clean and address public grievances.