A group of residents in Mumbai's Juhu locality has introduced a digital civic platform that acts as an 'issue collector,' enabling citizens to flag and document local problems in real time. The volunteer network allows residents to upload complaints covering a wide range of issues, including garbage and sanitation problems, illegal pavement encroachments, political hoardings, water leakages, tree hacking, and air pollution caused by construction dust.
How the Platform Works
To register a complaint, users must select the issue category, geo-tag their live location (which auto-detects latitude and longitude), upload photographs, and briefly describe the problem. By submitting a complaint, residents consent to their photographs and location details being used for the 'Keep Juhu Clean' campaign and shared with volunteers or civic authorities for follow-up action.
Progress and Challenges
Architect and local resident Samarth Das noted that the portal has been operational for six months. 'While the resolution rate by authorities currently stands at under 10%, the initiative has succeeded in creating a centralized database of civic issues affecting the locality and placing them before the authorities in a structured manner. Once complaints are logged and verified, they are compiled into bi-weekly reports and forwarded to the relevant civic departments. The reports specifically identify the concerned assistant engineer or head of department responsible for the issue, helping residents track accountability within the system,' said Das.
A review of one bi-weekly report by The Times of India revealed issues such as illegal political hoardings hung on light poles, garbage accumulation on road dividers, illegal fruit stalls, broken sidewalks, uneven roads, and open gutters.
Community Collaboration
Rajat Mittal Shah, a JVPD resident who helped build the platform, explained that the idea emerged from the growing number of civic issues residents noticed across the locality. 'One person alone cannot document everything. There was a strong need to systematically photo-document multiple civic issues, and that is how we decided to create a platform through which we could collectively approach the civic body,' she said. She added that the next step is to make the initiative more sustainable and structured.
Another resident, Vikrant Chedda, emphasized that sustained follow-up with authorities would be key to ensuring action on complaints. 'While we are identifying and documenting the issues, it is ultimately up to the BMC to resolve them at the earliest. We are now exploring a system where specific volunteers are assigned individual complaints and continue following up until the issue is fully resolved,' he said.
