An app that will allow users to have waste — solid, wet or construction and demolition (C&D) — collected by their urban local bodies was launched by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on Tuesday, along with a new protocol on wastewater treatment that would become a part of cleanliness rankings of cities.

Launching the fifth edition of the annual cleanliness survey which will culminate in January 2020, Swachh Survekshan 2020, Union Minister of State (independent charge) Hardeep Singh Puri also inaugurated the Swachh Nagar app.

The MoHUA secretary, Durga Shanker Mishra, said the app would let users place a request to have waste picked up from their homes and make the payment for the same. He said the app had been tested in Gurugram and in some of the General Pool Residential Accommodation colonies for government staff. It was already functional in Agra, Palwal and Port Blair and would now be extended to the whole country.

The Minister also launched the Water+ protocol for cities. A city could be given the tag of Water+ if it ensures 100% treatment of wastewater and 10% use of treated wastewater, among other things.

He also launched another app — mSBM — through which the government would be able to check whether funds given to beneficiaries of the Swachh Bharat Mission for constructing toilets are used for the work before releasing the second instalment.

“This app will not only facilitate the applicants of Individual Household Toilets under SBM-Urban to know the status of their application in real-time after uploading the photograph but also help them upload the correct photo,” a statement said.

Asked about the progress of the construction of toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, particularly in Delhi, Mr. Puri said it was the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board’s responsibility to do so.

“The Delhi government wants that everything should be given free, but urban development does not work like that,” he said.

After announcing free bus and Metro rides for women, the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi had recently said it would make electricity free for those who consume up to 200 units a month.

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