Have A Civic Complaint In Noida? WhatsApp It!

The garbage spread across the street emitting killer fumes, the commonality of the sight notwithstanding, forces you not to act ignorant and simply walk away. Similarly, you would also want the civic authority to make amends if you happen to witness an overflowing drain. The bad state of a public road would also beg you to report the issue to the authority concerned. However, most of the times, you would find that the initiative you took by lodging a complaint in your, as well as public interest, made no impact whatsoever. Calling it an initiative would not be exaggerating since one had to visit the office of the authority concerned and file a written complaint, a task that would require time and effort.

However, the laxity shown by authorities would mean the drain would keep overflowing, the garbage heap would keep getting bigger and the road would keep getting even worse the next time you pass by.

The Noida Authority is trying to make a change here.

To ensure that the public complaints related to civic issues are addressed in a speedier manner, the authority now plans to use social media platform WhatsApp.  For this, the authority has divided the city in 10 work circles and has created a separate Whatsapp group for each circle. Depending on your circle, you could file complaints related to waterlogging, dysfunctional traffic signals, overflowing drainage and garbage on the WhatsApp group, which would have senior officials of the authority as members. However, complaints related to major issues must still be lodged the traditional way.

Civic bodies across the country have been using WhatsApp to improve their public complaints redressal system.  The Delhi Traffic Police in 2014, for instance, launched a Whatsapp Helpline, using which a citizen can post audio-visual complaints. Last year, Haryana Urban Development Authority also launched a WhatsApp number using which citizens could post complaints against its officials. In cities such as Mangalore and Aurangabad, too, civic authorities are making use of social media platform to improve their public redressal system.