Van Rakhwali (वन रखवाली)

Abstract

Forest department being custodian of forest land keeps checks of any illicit tree felling and also on other forbidden activities like mining etc. Forest department currently keeps strict vigil. They act upon complaints received. But the problem is that Forest department has limited man power which can’t be omnipresent. Complaints received are either outdated or lacks vital information and therefore no action is taken on the complaints. By launching वन Rakhwali mobile app, we can facilitate citizens to be part of the drive against illicit activities as whenever they see any illegal activity happening around them they can file the complaint then and there only. By this time gap between occurrence and report is minimized. Information received is accurate including the GPS, set of images. The user has got the facility of clicking images of the illicit activity and uploads the image then and there only. This app mainly focuses on betterment of the environment as the complaint will be handled immediately and there will be no delay in handling of complaints. This makes it easier for the forest department also as the manpower is very less and with the help of the app there work load becomes less. The state is divided into several districts and each district has 4 rangers which take care of the complaints of that particular area. This application right now is only targeting districts of Himachal Pradesh only, so user shall not be able to report from any other state of India. App right only focuses on picture sent on the spot of the location which need to be reported.