UNHELPFUL HELPLINES

CHENNAI: Several issues related to road, solid waste, sewage water and drinking water contamination remain unresolved in the city. Whether it’s calling the helpline numbers of each department, or sharing grievances on their respective social media handles, officials don’t do their job, lament denizens and civic activists.

They fume that grievances are not rectified quickly, and often, zonal officials close the complaint without resolving it.

However, the civic body denies such allegations and assures DT Next that complaints/grievances, especially those posted on social media, are rectified within a few hours.

Process on paper

According to official data, on any given day, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) around receives 600-700 complaints daily, whereas 300 complaints are registered for the Metro Water board. The complaints are registered on various platforms such as helpline numbers, Namma Chennai app, social media, print and TV channels.

In theory, this is how it works. Usually, when a complaint is raised online, or on 1913, GCC’s Namma Chennai app, and 1916, (044) 4567 4567 of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), the consumer gets a reference number. The respective zonal officials follow up on the issue and rectify it within a day or two. After 10-15 days, another follow up is done from the complaint cell in the head office. Until the consumer is satisfied the complaint would be open.

“Wherever you register the complaint, it’s resolved and closed within 2-3 days unless it’s a long pending project that requires contractors or if it’s about health hazards-inducing issues like water contamination,” explains a civic body official.

Reality stings

Sounds great but the reality couldn’t be more different, claim residents. Officials at GCC and Metro Water board neglect to address public’s grievances despite raising multiple complaints online, on the app and via social media.

“On several occasions, zonal officials close the case without even addressing the issue. Earlier, when grievances were not solved for a long time, zonal officers would close the complaint after addressing the issue within a week,” said S Sethuraman, a resident of Madippakkam, who has been trying to reach out to the local body officials regarding water connection in the area’s public toilet.

“Nowadays, officials request us not to file online complaints because when they remain unresolved, they’re questioned by their senior officials. This creates a problem for them,” he stated.

Several residents in north Chennai told this reporter that for any unresolved complaint, zonal officials offer a standard reply – lack of funds. They opined that senior authorities in the local administration must be more considerate of the people and ensure issues are rectified at the earliest.

“Last year, after the construction of storm water drains, the roads and several sewage pipelines in the area were damaged,” stated K Prabhakaran, a resident of Muniappan Street in Perambur. “We didn’t know which department to approach because they were two different issues. Then, the complaint we forwarded to the civic activist in the locality was uploaded on social media. It was only after that the grievance was rectified.”

Only social media

Additionally, residents claim that the GCC and Metro Water board apps and helpline numbers are of no use, as the only way to get a quick resolution is by posting the complaint on social media, especially Twitter. When asked about this, officials at the Metro Water’s grievance centre said that they get 5-6 complaints per day, which makes it easy for them to forward it to the concerned officers.

That’s probably the only factor that officials, civic activists and residents agree upon — the effectiveness of social media. “I started uploading pictures and tagging the official handle of the GCC and CMWSSB. It gets addressed within a few hours,” pointed out C Raghukumar, a civic activist. “Earlier, we could reopen the complaint in the local body apps, whereas now that option is unavailable. If nothing works, we escalate the issue to the media, which brings it directly to the attention of the senior officials. That’s how we’ve been resolving civic issues in our neighbourhood.”

He bemoaned the lack of awareness among the public about the responsibilities of each department and the civic issues each one addresses.

Officials say…

One of the most important factors of Singara Chennai 2.0 project is the Integrated Command Control Centre, where all complaints registered through several platforms are supposed to be resolved.

“We divert the calls to officials of the concerned zones through the Namma Chennai app. Pending cases are presented to the Corporation Commissioner during the periodic meeting. Based on the report, he issues guidelines to improve it,” explained a senior GCC official. “We have around 27 categories including solid waste management, road, stray animal menace, etc., and maintain a separate dashboard for the grievances.”

The GCC has installed CCTV cameras in 50 locations based on the vulnerable points to monitor solid waste management in the city. They also monitor activities in a few areas and give the footage to the police department. It has planned to launch a platform for citizen engagement, where they can track the grievances.

In CMWSSB, the complaint cell team sends both consumer and officials contact numbers to each other. If zonal officials close the complaint, the status in the head office would be pending.

“Until we get a response from the consumers, it’d not be closed. However, if they close it without addressing the problem, officials will have to explain that in the review meeting. Then, the complaint is escalated to higher officials,” said a senior official in the grievance department in CMWSSB. “Every fortnight we have a review meeting. If we get complaints from the same person or area, it’s verified and checked immediately.”