Swachh: An App to a Cleaner India

Arushi Jha; Anupama Namburu

Abstract

A common sight that one might see in the streets of India is that of garbage and trash carelessly strewn around. It is also not uncommon to see people casually throwing wrappers and other unwanted items on the road, so it comes as no surprise that littering is one of the biggest challenges faced by our country. Littering is not just an issue of aesthetics but poses a major threat to the environment in the form of land and water pollution. This leads to loss of fertile land, forest cover, fodder patches, contamination of water bodies degrading their water quality and making it toxic and unfit to use. Citizens are the primary reason for the widespread littering and improper garbage disposal found in India. Hence, it only makes sense that people as a community and as proactive environment conscious individuals, come together to tackle this problem. The manuscript presents Swachh, a mobile application developed to aid citizens in cleaning and clearing our cities and surrounding areas and in return be rewarded gift cards. Since the project involves the people, the challenge of littering will be dealt at the grass root level itself making it much more effective. In this way everyone can do their part to safeguard the environment and contribute towards a cleaner, more Swachh India.