CHENNAI: The Namma Chennai app was launched by the Greater Chennai Corporation in June last year for speedy redressal of civic issues. But users complain the app is losing its efficiency. The app is primarily aimed to work as a faster means for citizens to voice their concerns on garbage clearance, encroachments, streetlights and other civic issues. It allows them to upload pictures and write about the grievances. However, users of this app allege that the civic officials are in a hurry to close the complaints within 24 hours even before resolving them.
According to official data, the Namma Chennai app received 91,091 complaints from January 2019 to September 3, 2019. Of these, 90,026 have been solved and 1,015 are pending. “About a week back, I complained about the garbage issue in our area and that the rains are making things worse for us.
The officials were in such a hurry to close the complaint that they made at least 15 calls to find out what the problem was about and closed it before the issue was resolved,” said Padmanabhan Gopalakrishnan, a resident of Ambattur.
When Sherin Thomas, a resident of Vadapalani, complained about miscreants damaging the streetlights in her area, the officials replaced only half of them and changed the complaint status in the app to ‘resolved’. “At first, the app was very effective but looks like the ward level officials are not taking it seriously anymore,” she said. Other users said they had faced a similar issue especially regarding garbage clearance, poor roads and streetlights.
A source at GCC indicated this could be due to performance appraisals. “The officials who close complaints on time get recognised by higher officials. Also, unaddressed complaints are followed by higher officials. The ward level officers must be doing this for appraisal,” he said.
However, the official overlooking the app said, “We take severe action against flouters, so much so that a lot of officials have been suspended. So, the ward-level officials know the consequences if they get caught. However, we are working on more measures to increase the efficiency of the app,” she said. Before the launch of the app, Chennaiites had to dial 1913 or navigate through the civic body’s website, which is infamous for being painstakingly slow.