City Pulse

Addressing issues in your city or neighbourhood is often viewed as complicated and time-consuming. A lack of interest and high dependence on the government to solve problems further impacts citizenship. Today, technology has made this process transparent, interactive and inclusive. City authorities and social organisations are using technology to consider public opinion and address issues in urban life.

Sumit Arora, Head, Civic Tech at Janaagraha speaks about exploring digital innovations to bring solutions to urban issues.

You have been a part of Janaagraha for the last eight years with technology being a constant thread and data a central role in creating impact. Tell us more about your journey in the social sector?

I have been a technologist from the beginning of my career. At Janaagraha, I saw the opportunity to work on social issues and at the same time, use my passion for technology. I found the best fit. Here we conceptualized and implemented technological solutions in a friendly, secure and scalable manner which enable easy citizen and government interaction. This data-driven development has helped us measure improved government accountability in definitive ways.

One such example is I Change My City (ICMYC), our flagship platform. ICMYC allows citizens to post civic issues in three simple steps which are otherwise a tedious task, both, offline and online. The data on our platform is open, which means it allows citizens to view each other's complaints in the same area. This lets citizens support each other with the grievances. Together, these complaints are routed directly to the authorised government department and officials, demanding immediate action. This automated process saves time for citizens and helps the department in charge to direct the task towards the staff responsible for solving it. Once the work on the issue commences, citizens receive regular notifications concerning the progress. 

The annual budget section within ICMYC is another example of open-source nature of the platform.  Here, citizens can view budget allocations for their respective wards and be informed about the projects underway. ICMYC is built on transparency, enabling informed citizenship and accountability from the government.

We also manage the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban. A platform whose objective is to make urban India free from defecation and achieve 100% scientific management of municipal solid waste across towns in the country.

IChangeMYCity (ICMYC) is a path-breaking initiative which has cultivated and nurtured citizen participation. Tell us more about it?

Resolving an issue such as fixing a sewer hole cover becomes a challenge if citizens do not know where to report the problem and follow up on it.

As a citizen, I came across small issues. I never knew how to go about and get the problem fixed. Moreover, the lack of information left me feeling helpless many times, and I stopped being a participative citizen.

My personal experience and insights helped towards making ICMYC a transparent platform which showcases the governments' plans, budgets and on-going work on ICMYC. Most importantly, it is inclusive, giving a voice to citizens.

What do you want people who are advancing citizen participation in social organisation to know about technology?

Technology which can enable information availability and dissemination seamlessly is the key going forward. COVID-19 has proved that we cannot ignore our reliance on technology, and it is the way forward. Increasingly, we have learned that various technology platforms helped citizens actively reach out to one another and engage with the government for food, medication, hospitals, test centers etc.

Urban and rural India has witnessed an increase in the use of smartphones and the internet. This trend heralds the time for social organisations to use technology to fuel changes, along with continued on ground-efforts. Technology can simplify time-consuming methods such as data organisation, information dissemination to large audiences, thus helping fasten the process of critical decision making. For example, ICMYC features a section called Volunteering. Here, citizens or organisations can create volunteering opportunities creating a participative culture.

Give us an example of work you think which has seamlessly intersected technology and civic issues?

There are many examples. For one, The Swachh Platform for Swachh Bharat Mission was developed on the ICMYC platform for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. This platform helps citizens report issues on cleanliness around them. The platform operates in more than 3700 cities in India, with a customer database of 18 Million citizens. The platform has created a working relationship between citizens and governments.

For example, the data can help officials understand which areas within the city receive the maximum number of complaints. This information will help them plan and deploy additional staff to solve the problem quickly and also observe patterns in the issues reported. The data gathered on the platform is used to analyse the civic issues further and help governments make the right decisions.

Haqdarshak is another key civic tech platform. This platform lists government schemes with eligibility requirements and benefits entailed for citizens. This is a well-thought and potent tool as many a times, citizens find out only later about benefits that they could have availed.

What innovations do you see taking birth under civic tech in the coming years?

I think we are in the nascent stage of innovations and there is a lot to be done. There is an immediate urgency to make citizens understand what civic technology is all about and the possibilities of civic technology if the same is used it intuitively. They need to start viewing it as a tool which can help solve everyday life problems that generally go unnoticed.

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Civic Tech Applications together can help collate day-to-day issues, suggest resolutions and involve stakeholders at all levels. Technology can make this process inclusive, and data-oriented decisions will help improve the overall quality of life in cities.