Chandigarh: MC app to auto-escalate service requests, complaints

The Chandigarh municipal corporation is working on a major revamp of all citizen services and a user-friendly mobile app to avail them.

The new features will be added and procedures for availing the services will be simplified and rationalised on the app “Im Chandigarh”, which jointly offers services of the MC and Chandigarh Smart City Limited.

An important feature of the app will be auto-escalation of grievances and service requests to senior officials if they are not addressed on time.

“All services should be citizen-friendly. Currently, a lot of issues mar the speedy and efficient delivery of these services. All 85 MC services will be simplified and rationalised so that citizens can fully benefit from them,” said MC commissioner Anindita Mitra.

After joining the post, Mitra has started reviewing working of each department and the services being provided by them. The emphasis is on identifying reasons for delay in delivery of services.

Two departments — booking and horticulture — have already started implementing the changes. The former takes care of booking of community centres and other such MC properties by citizens. “After a review of their working, I have directed them to makes changes within a week’s time,” said Mitra, adding that all departments and services will be covered in three months.

How it will work

“The time period allotted for grievance redressal or delivery of services is also being reviewed. We are trying to reduce the stipulated time for delivery of each service,” said the MC chief.

Explaining the auto-escalation feature that is being added to the app, she said: “If a service is not delivered in the stipulated time by a designated officer, then after the expiry of this period, the service request or complaint will be automatically forwarded to the higher authority. This will help in ensuring accountability of officials and timely delivery of services.”

For the delivery of services, if an approval is required from a senior official, it takes time as the entire process is physical with files moving from one desk to another. But under the revamped system, after the approval of the senior official, an SMS will be immediately sent to the implementing authority, so that action on the service request can be immediately initiated. The physical approval can come even later.

All the services available on the app will be made bilingual. Initially, the users will be able to use the services both in English and Hindi, and if required other languages will also be added to the app.

Currently, forms for services requisite, to be filled by users, have many mandatory fields to be filled. “Many of these are unnecessary. For instance, what is the need for email or Aadhaar for getting a tree pruned in front of your house. This discourages residents from availing MC services. Such unnecessary mandatory fields are being removed and minimised,” said Mitra.