The Environment Pollution, Prevention and Control Authority of India has taken the novel and remarkable step of launching an all-new pollution-fighting app that is designed to leverage the power of India's populace in the battle against pollution. Specifically, this app makes it possible for regular citizens to file complaints and draw attention to construction and other industrial projects resulting in undue pollution.
Moreover, the app lets users hold government authorities responsible by requiring them to post an update on the case within 15 days of the complaint being registered.
Dubbed 'Hawa Badlo', Hindi for 'change the air', this pollution-fighting app lets users take photos of offending industrial sites and then convey their complaint over to the appropriate government department for further action. Available through iOS and Android, this app is a great example of environment regulation enforcement drawing on the wider population's contributions.
Populist Pollution-Fighting Apps
This App Leverages the Power Of the Crowd to Prevent Pollution
Trend Themes
1. Crowdsourced Pollution Mitigation - The trend of creating mobile apps that leverage the collective power of everyday citizens to identify and report pollutants in their surroundings, enabling government authorities to take quick remedial action.
2. Real-time Government Accountability - The trend of deploying mobile apps that make it necessary for government officials to provide quick and timely updates to app users on the status of complaints or cases they registered, thereby enforcing greater transparency and accountability.
3. Personalized Environmental Governance - The trend of promoting environmental activism by giving greater control to citizens over how their environment is regulated, and providing them with easy-to-use digital tools to report evidence of pollution and engage with fellow citizens.
Industry Implications
1. Mobile App Development - The mobile app development industry can leverage crowdsourced pollution mitigating app ideas and incorporate real-time government accountability requirements to build powerful digital tools to battle all types of pollution.
2. Environmental Compliance Consultancy - The Environmental Compliance Consultancy industry can leverage personalized environmental governance to offer end-to-end pollution mitigation solutions to households and industrial firms by tapping into the citizen familiarity with available mobile apps which can foster transparency and monitoring of government action.
3. Data Analytics and GIS - The Data Analytics and GIS industry can leverage crowdsourced data available from these pollution-fighting apps to develop predictive modeling tools to track pollution levels in real-time, visualize remedial action taken, and identify environmental hotspots needing attention.