In a bid to keep Delhi clean and poster-free and ensure an incident-free 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, Delhi’s South-West district has now asked citizens to help enforce the Model Code of Conduct by reporting violations to them on Facebook and WhatsApp.
People are allowed to post a photo/video of any instance of violation indicating the location and time or any other relevant details on the Facebook page — www.facebook.com/del15sw either WhatsApp on 9871055644. The name and contact details may also be posted but has not been made mandatory. “A cell has been set up to look into all such reported violations on priority and take action within 24 hours of the report. The action taken will also be informed to the complainant and also uploaded on the Facebook page,” said an official.
Commenting on the system’s advantages, District Magistrate and District Election Officer (South-West) Ankur Garg said that “As the 2015 elections are likely to be keenly contested ones, we are expecting an intensive and aggressive campaign by most parties and hence, it is necessary to check that the code of conduct guidelines issued by ECI are followed right from beginning and violations are nipped in the bud.”
“We have deployed sufficient flying and static squads on the ground, this newly launched facility will help each citizen become our eyes and ears, thereby increasing our efficacy several folds. People are not normally willing to take photo printouts and then write letters in reporting violations. But now they can use this platform to click photos and send instantaneously,” he added.
All the complaints will be personally looked into by the nodal officer at the district level and after ascertaining their veracity, action under relevant guidelines and statutes will be initiated.
Nearly 34,000 posters, 2,900 banners, 4,100 hoardings and 42 wall writings have been removed from public property. 24 flying squad teams and a similar number of static squads have been deployed for round-the-clock duty. Besides a 24x7 media cell has also been put in place to keep a watch on reports of all newspapers and news channels for any cases of MCC violations.
The most prominent cases of violation of Model Code of Conduct are the ones in which citizens can upload photos and videos include defacement of public property or private property, unauthorised use of loudspeakers, rallies and meetings without permissions and using religion or caste to promote political interests by candidates.