Smart Madurai app, launched in December last year as a seamless option for residents to report issues directly to the corporation, has failed to live up to its promise
However, as there was no way to contact the official responsible for rectifying an issue, residents said that the lack of transparency was more detrimental and called for past grievance redressal methods including on the corporation website to be given priority. Balasubramaniam, secretary of the LIG Colony Residents Welfare Association said that the earlier systems gave out details such as the email id and phone number of the official responsible. “We could call or message the official directly before, but now we have no idea who to contact, and there are no updates even if an issue is resolved,” he said. A senior corporation official said that every grievance made on the Smart Madurai app is taken seriously. “We post updates on social media platforms with before and after pictures of complaints being resolved,” the official said.
The app featured a smooth chain of command to address the complaints of residents within a month, with regular status updates sent directly to the complainant’s phone, without the need to follow up on the issue repeatedly. He added that most complaints are only rejected, if they have already been repeated or if work to resolve the issue has already been put into motion.