NEW DELHI: Despite the recent rap by the Union Ministry of Urban Development over their failure to resolve civic complaints lodged through the Swachhata App, municipal corporations have failed to take the warning seriously.
The equally-determined ministry has decided to teach the adamant civic bodies a lesson and give a fresh push to the mobile app by holding the erring municipal officials accountable. It has written to the state governments saying complainants should be compensated if officials fa il to resolve issues within the defined time frame.
On June 18, The Sunday Standard reported how the Swachhata App, launched last year by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu under flagship Swachh Mission, has been losing its impact and facing public apathy as most municipal bodies fail to address cleanliness-related issues filed through it. After receiving complaints about civic bodies not using the app, the ministry had pulled up the authorities.
Letters written by the ministry to the state governments read: “It is proposed that if the services, which are available on the Swachhata App, are enacted via the State Public Service Delivery Act in your state, it will provide thrust and mandate to the urban local bodies to resolve the complaints reported by the citizens.”
About 12 lakh people have downloaded the application at the city-level and filed cleanliness-related complaints through it. Complaints can be reported under nine categories.
Meanwhile, Joint Secretary and mission director of Swachh Bharat Mission, Praveen Prakash, has sought premature repatriation from the Ministry of Urban Development.