Now monitor and report air quality in Delhi-NCR on Hawa Badlo app

Residents of Delhi-NCR will now be able to monitor air pollution in their neighbourhood and report it to government agencies by just clicking and uploading pictures on a mobile application.

Residents of Delhi-NCR will now be able to monitor air pollution in their neighbourhood and report it to government agencies by just clicking and uploading pictures on a mobile application.

The mobile application was launched in two parts, one for the citizens to report the cases and the other for government officials to monitor complaints and take action.(Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times)

The Supreme Court-appointed Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority of Delhi and NCR on Friday launched a mobile application, Hawa Badlo, to encourage citizen participation in reporting incidents of leaf burning, garbage burning, building and construction and unpaved road dust so that these contributors can be checked.

The mobile application was launched in two parts, one for the citizens to report the cases and the other for government officials to monitor complaints and take action.

When the users download and sign in to the app they are guided to the home page which is divided into three categories — leaf and garbage burning, building and construction and unpaved roads.

After clicking on the category of complaint, users will be guided to the page where they will be asked to ‘take a picture and report it’.

“The users can upload two pictures of the offence on the app and the complaint will be geo-tagged, showing the location of the offence and the authority which is supposed to address the complaint,” said Sunita Narain, director general, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and a member of EPCA.

The complaint then goes to the concerned government agency which checks the authenticity of the complaint. If a user is found to submit more than three fake complaints then their ID will be blocked from the system and they will no longer be able to register any more complaints.

A period of 15 days is given to the government body to address the complaint and give a status deport.

At present, the three municipal corporations (east, south and north), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Public Works Department (PWD) is a part of the redressal system.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) could not be included their area of jurisdiction has not been marked.

“Users can check the status of the complaint filed by them and also see the number and nature of complaints filed in their area. This app will ensure some accountability is fixed on government agencies and will also enable public engagement,” Narain said.

She said as the app is developed, more agencies will be added to the list. The application also includes agencies from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.