If you are facing a civic issue like pending garbage disposal or a choked sewerage, all you will need to do is take a picture, give your details and the location and upload it to the app that the government is set to launch soon.

Once done, the complaint will reach a dedicated team of the municipality concerned to initiate immediate action.

The urban development and municipal affairs (UDMA) department is all set to launch a mobile application next week as part of its robust cleanliness drive in the urban areas of the state.

“The mobile application is all set to be launched. It is likely to be accessible to people of any municipality or corporation, including Calcutta, from next week. Anyone can take a picture and upload it. The municipality or corporation will promptly act on it,” UDMA minister Agnimitra Paul told The Telegraph on Saturday.

“We will finalise a name for the application and open it to the public,” she added.

A source has said that once the photograph is uploaded, it will alert the garbage-cleaning team or the person concerned with maintaining the sewage system of the particular corporation or municipality. A team will then be sent to clean the spot and submit a compliance report through the mobile application.

“Everything will be on record — from the time someone lodges the complaint to the time the municipality or corporation acts on it,” said an official.

Bengal has 128 civic bodies, including seven municipal corporations — Kolkata, Bidhanagar, Howrah, Asansol, Durgapur, Chandernagore and Siliguri.

The issue of cleanliness has become a major problem in different corporations and municipal areas. Residents of these civic body areas have regularly complained about delays in garbage cleaning and the lackadaisical attitude of urban bodies in acting upon complaints. It was also difficult for residents to visit the local offices of municipalities and corporations to inform the authorities.

“Now, once the picture is uploaded to the app, a monitoring team in the state urban development department will also be informed about the complaint. So, it will be easier for top officials to monitor whether the task has been executed or not,” he added.

The issue of cleanliness drives has become a serious concern for the new BJP government ahead of the monsoon season and the probable threat of dengue. Minister Paul wants to implement the robust cleanliness drive as soon as possible, particularly as the monsoon is scheduled to begin after June 8.

She has already held meetings with officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and other civic bodies to minimise waterlogging issues. Failure to address waterlogging properly had become a challenge for the previous government in controlling the increasing number of dengue cases, as the Aedes aegypti mosquito breeds in stagnant water.

The minister also said that she would visit the vulnerable areas of waterlogging issues soon.

Once someone opens the mobile application, they will be asked to mention a subject, such as garbage cleaning, animal carcass removal, or sewage issues. After selecting the appropriate option, the camera will open and ask for confirmation of the location. Once the user takes a photograph, the application will ask him or her to upload it.

Any person can also leave a note, although that is not mandatory.

“The operation of the mobile application has been kept simple for common people. So, anyone can handle it,” another official said.

The department may take action if the municipality or the corporation does not act in time after the photograph is uploaded.

Paul said the idea was inspired by the Election Commission application through which anyone can upload photographs of violations of the model code of conduct.

“Once the application becomes operational, the task of clearing heaped garbage will become much easier,” another official in the UDMA department said.