The Nanjangud City Municipal Council (CMC) has just launched an exciting new online platform that promises to transform how citizens report and resolve grievances. This innovative portal not only provides easy access to contact information for local elected representatives and municipal staff, but also introduces a convenient QR code system. Residents can now simply scan QR codes posted in their areas to directly connect with the relevant officials responsible for addressing their specific civic concerns.
Named ‘Civinc’ – a clever blend of ‘civic’ and ‘link’ – this digital initiative was developed at Ashoka University. It was formally inaugurated by Nanjangud MLA Darshan Dhruvanarayan, with CMC President Srikanta and Commissioner Vijaya also in attendance.
Aishwarya Sunaad, a Mysuru resident and an Ashoka University alumna who leads Concept Development and Research for Civinc, explained that the ‘civinc.in’ portal aims to replace traditional, often unclear, grievance systems. Its goal is to create direct and transparent lines of communication between citizens and government officials, fostering greater accountability.
Thanks to this new system, Nanjangud residents can simply scan unique ward-specific QR codes placed throughout each area to instantly access details of municipal staff assigned to handle various local issues.
Heralded as a groundbreaking digital innovation, Civinc allows citizens to easily log complaints across a wide range of civic services, including garbage collection, sanitation, street lighting, road upkeep, water supply, underground drainage, voter ID inquiries, public safety, health concerns, and many more.
A statement from Ashoka University highlighted that users won’t need to download a separate app to submit their grievances. The platform also encourages community involvement by allowing users to contribute data or point out outdated information. Uniquely, it incorporates an internal performance review system for municipal employees, significantly boosting civic participation and administrative accountability.
MLA Darshan Dhruvanarayan, the driving force behind this project, expressed immense pride in a press statement, stating, ‘Nanjangud is setting a national example as the first non-metro city in the country to digitize its civic data. By offering citizens direct access to officials responsible for vital services, we are making governance more transparent, responsive, and ultimately, more efficient.’
Developed through a collaborative co-production model, Civinc is specifically designed to overcome the technological and manpower challenges often faced by non-metro cities. The platform achieves this by partnering with local governments to host, review, and maintain crucial civic data at no cost, making it an accessible solution for many.
While Mr. Dhruvanarayan championed the digitization of civic data, the Civinc portal itself was a student-led achievement. Harsh Raj and Aditya Sinha from the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, developed the entire technology under the mentorship of Dr. Debayan Gupta, an assistant professor of Computer Science at Ashoka University.
The statement concluded by emphasizing Civinc’s potential: ‘This scalable model positions Civinc for nationwide expansion, empowering more towns and cities to enhance governance and service delivery through innovative, technology-driven solutions.’