7th August 2023, Mumbai: QR codes are essentially two-dimensional barcodes that can store information, and cities across India have begun using them for a host of purposes better governance, delivery of citizen services, and seeking feedback for services, among others.
Scanning these codes, officials said, will give a person all the information about the road — its length, the official responsible for its maintenance, when it was last repaired, details of waste generated, and the names and contact numbers of officials in charge of streetlights.
While most of this data was already with us in digitised form, we have now made it available to the public through QR Codes.
Similarly, Jammu has embarked on a massive project, under which more than 250,000 residential and commercial properties in the city will be given a QR code-based digital address — a number plate with a unique digital door number (DDN).
The digital address will have details such as the geo-tagged location of the property, ward number, street number, and house number, and also details of its water and electricity connections.
We have already surveyed over 200,000 properties, and the data collected will be used for better decision-making.
Innovation with QR codes
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) in 2021 conducted a survey of trees in its area of jurisdiction and put up QR codes on about 4,000 trees across 135 roads and in Lodhi Garden, with details such as their girth, height, crown area, location, deformity, blooming season, biological name, carbon dioxide intake and oxygen-releasing capacity.
Police forces too are getting in on the act. Delhi Police, for example, launched Anubhuti, a QR code-based feedback system, in 2022 to establish what it calls a “two-way communication between the public and the police”.
Another innovative way in which these QR codes are used can be seen in Bengaluru — last September, the BBMP tied up with traffic police and Manipal Hospitals and installed QR codes at all major traffic signals to provide quick help to those facing a medical emergency in the middle of a traffic jam.
Experts weigh in
Experts say the use of QR codes comes with both conveniences and concerns. “I believe QR codes are an example of how digital language can be developed for a verbal community. It is like the individuation of information,” said Osama Manzar, founder-director, Digital Empowerment Foundation, a non-profit which works to help people to gain access to better healthcare, education, skills and livelihood opportunities through digital literacy and tools. “But there should be more awareness about malicious QR codes that may be used for phishing attacks or deliver dangerous and malicious content,” he cautioned.
Apar Gupta, co-founder, and executive director of Internet Freedom Foundation, which works in the area of digital rights, said the widespread use of QR codes in accessing citizen services may lead to the exclusion of some sections of society. “There is a digital divide even in metro cities, and thus, such digital initiatives by cities need to be mindful of those who don’t have smartphones and are not so digitally savvy. I believe that government agencies must keep open other non-digital means of public interactions and feedback,” he said.
ASC Priya