Gandhigiri - Hinjewadi to get app to lodge complaints

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Ravi Karandeekar

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Jun 23, 2015, 9:55:26 AM6/23/15

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Rapid urbanisation, presence of IT majors and the desire to cash in on the housing boom have collectively prompted the Hinjewadi village panchayat to launch an app for addressing people's civic complaints.

The app called `Gandhigiri' -inspired by popular Bolywood flick “Lage Raho Munna Bhai“ -has been developed with the help of an information technology company and will be launched in a week's time, said Shyam Hulawale, sarpanch of Hinjewadi gram panchayat.

He added that the name of the company will be disclosed during the launch.

Hulawale said, “Villagers can register complaints about non-functional streetlights, problems of water supply , and drainage among others. One can also upload photographs of the problem with an appropriate explanation. The gram panchayat will assign employees to monitor the complaints and forward them to the concerned departments for quick action. Once the action has been taken, photographs of completed work will be uploaded on the app and the complainant will be informed.“

Minor problems like choked drainage chambers, non-functioning streetlights, uncleared garbage can be addressed quickly , but major problems like tarring of road or laying water pipeline will need more time as they need approval for expenditure, he said.

Hulawale said, “The citizens will have to download the app and register themselves. They can form groups within depending on services like schools, hospitals, roads etc and upload their comments.“

Hulawale said that once the app becomes functional, people won't be required to come to the gram panchayat office with complaints. Further, they can also use this platform to upload photographs of people dumping garbage in the open, littering the roads or open areas or those who do not follow traffic rules.

“It is like naming and shaming those who do not ad here to basic civic rules,“ he said.

Hinjewadi village came on the global map after an IT park was set up here by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation by acquiring land from villagers.

“The village has a population of 11,000 natives and it also houses a floating population of about 30,000 which includes people working as gardeners, canteen workers, watchmen and casual workers. Some IT professionals already live here and their number will increase with big residential projects coming up in the village,“ said Hulawale.

He added that the ease of registering complaints through the app will make the village an attractive place for people to live in.