‘E-Connect’ app out of service; Nashik civic body promises upgraded version shortly

Nashik: The Nashik Municipal Corporation's (NMC) ‘E-Connect' mobile application — a key civic platform for lodging complaints — has remained non-functional for the past three months, leaving residents unable to register fresh grievances or track earlier submissions.Citizens said complaints filed through the app are not being addressed, and repeated reminders have gone unanswered. They alleged that despite the app being promoted as a centralised grievance redressal system, entries have received no response for weeks, forcing many to approach divisional offices in person.Speaking to reporters, Mayor Himgauri Aher acknowledged the issue and said the app is undergoing a major upgrade to improve efficiency and accessibility. She said the revamped version will introduce enhanced features aimed at offering residents a smoother and more convenient digital service experience.According to the mayor, the updated app will allow users to pay property tax, check water supply details, register complaints, and track their status. It will also simplify the submission of online applications for various civic certificates. She added that the objective is to make the platform more user-centric and technically stable.NMC's digital grievance system has undergone multiple changes over the years. The civic body first launched the Smart Nashik App in 2014 to facilitate online complaint filing. In 2018, then municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe upgraded and restructured it into a more citizen-friendly format, relaunching it on March 1, 2018, as ‘NMC E-Connect'. The redesigned version removed departmental categories so that complainants were not burdened with identifying the concerned department. Instead, users could select from a list of grievances or submit detailed complaints directly.