Guwahati: Seeking to make people’s aspiration for quick public grievance redressal a reality, a district in western Assam has sought the help of technology to enable the public to reach the administration without hassles.
The initiative has been taken by Goalpara district by developing a mobile phone application through which the public can register their grievances or shortcomings in implementation of any government scheme.
“InfrastructureSnapshot App – available for Android phones, is a one of its kind convergence app for infrastructure monitoring and grievance redressal. It can also help in alerting for violence and disasters,” Goalpara deputy commissioner Varnali Deka told UNI.
The user is provided with a login ID and password by the IT cell of the district and the App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Explaining the functioning of the App, Deka said, “All complaints, suggestions, issues registered come to a control centre, where they are sorted and resolved.
Regular reviews are held to check the action taken.”
Since it’s launch in late December last year, 247 users have been registered and 330 reports have been received so far. The DC said awareness programmes regarding the app are being conducted, targeting especially the students and youth, while government officials and media personnel are also encouraged to register themselves and act as eyes of the government.
Goalpara is among the ‘aspirational districts’ in the country, identified by Niti Aayog for targeted developmental activities to bring these districts at par with other districts.
To minimise possibility of false complaints, the system of registering the user has been made mandatory, the DC said, adding that gradually, the provision of keeping the complainant updated on the status of the grievance will be put in place.
The App, which has been developed free of cost, has the feature to capture function in both online and offline modes along with geo-tagging, which is essential for a district like Goalpara where there are many shadow areas with no data connectivity. (UNI)
