More than 700 SMSes flooded Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in 47 days, with denizens wishing to resolve their municipal problems
by the new SMS interface based complaint redressal system.
The most repeated plaints were malfunctioning street lights. Roads, drain and water formed the second group of repeated municipal complaints. Both types drew more than 200 complaints.
The response was overwhelming and with their performance allowance linked to the complaint redressal, the municipal officers have been on their toes. Since its launch on August 20 this year, the first SMS based complaint redressal system has attracted more than 700 users in the new west zone (NWZ), chosen for the pilot project of this system.
A simple call on a toll-free number regarding any civic problem in the area will make the engineers and officers concerned in NWZ ward office responsible. “Many in Satellite, Prahladnagar, Vejalpur, Bodakdev have used the system for lodging their complaints,” said AMC officials.
“Firstly, the software tells us what people are actually worried about, the nature of their constant complaints. This would help us prioritise on our services. AMC will have a detailed report on the actual response time of its team to a problem, whether the manpower assigned to a particular area is adequate,” says assistant manager, administration, Vipul Patel.
The AMC has recorded the highest number of complaints on streetlights, followed by sewerage, garbage disposal, public hygiene and dead animals. This service has a new category in which citizens can call in to report illegal tree felling in their area.
“Once the name of the complainant is registered with the system, the concerned area officer is SMSed who deals with the specific problem. Here the officer calls up the complainant and co-ordinates with him on the problem. This is something that we have recently introduced. This is an advantage as for instance if a drainage problem is because of a major drain burst in some other zone, the complainant can be pacified,” says a senior municipal officer in the NWZ.
The unique software called ‘SmartServe’ automatically shoots off SMSes to concerned area engineer responsible for problematic water supply, drains, roads or garbage collection. If the complaint is not redressed within a fixed number of hours, the unique software would shoot off SMSes to officers above the local engineer and finally even to the zonal deputy municipal commissioner and further to the municipal commissioner.
“The software does not stop shooting SMSes until the citizen’s complain is addressed. Basically, it runs around for you and creates a log of the toil it did. If the AMC engineer closes the complaint on his log form, which is online, an SMS will inform the complainant immediately and seek his opinion. The citizen can start off the entire process by calling up the call centre,” adds the officer.
Courtesy : www.timesofindia.com
by the new SMS interface based complaint redressal system.
The most repeated plaints were malfunctioning street lights. Roads, drain and water formed the second group of repeated municipal complaints. Both types drew more than 200 complaints.
The response was overwhelming and with their performance allowance linked to the complaint redressal, the municipal officers have been on their toes. Since its launch on August 20 this year, the first SMS based complaint redressal system has attracted more than 700 users in the new west zone (NWZ), chosen for the pilot project of this system.
A simple call on a toll-free number regarding any civic problem in the area will make the engineers and officers concerned in NWZ ward office responsible. “Many in Satellite, Prahladnagar, Vejalpur, Bodakdev have used the system for lodging their complaints,” said AMC officials.
“Firstly, the software tells us what people are actually worried about, the nature of their constant complaints. This would help us prioritise on our services. AMC will have a detailed report on the actual response time of its team to a problem, whether the manpower assigned to a particular area is adequate,” says assistant manager, administration, Vipul Patel.
The AMC has recorded the highest number of complaints on streetlights, followed by sewerage, garbage disposal, public hygiene and dead animals. This service has a new category in which citizens can call in to report illegal tree felling in their area.
“Once the name of the complainant is registered with the system, the concerned area officer is SMSed who deals with the specific problem. Here the officer calls up the complainant and co-ordinates with him on the problem. This is something that we have recently introduced. This is an advantage as for instance if a drainage problem is because of a major drain burst in some other zone, the complainant can be pacified,” says a senior municipal officer in the NWZ.
The unique software called ‘SmartServe’ automatically shoots off SMSes to concerned area engineer responsible for problematic water supply, drains, roads or garbage collection. If the complaint is not redressed within a fixed number of hours, the unique software would shoot off SMSes to officers above the local engineer and finally even to the zonal deputy municipal commissioner and further to the municipal commissioner.
“The software does not stop shooting SMSes until the citizen’s complain is addressed. Basically, it runs around for you and creates a log of the toil it did. If the AMC engineer closes the complaint on his log form, which is online, an SMS will inform the complainant immediately and seek his opinion. The citizen can start off the entire process by calling up the call centre,” adds the officer.
Courtesy : www.timesofindia.com