SINGAPORE — Public housing residents living in estates managed by 12 People’s Action Party (PAP) town councils (TCs) have an additional communication channel for providing feedback on maintenance-related issues, after a new smartphone application was launched yesterday.

The iTown@SG app, which cost S$100,000 and six months to develop, will also allow residents to check if the TC has dealt with the problems they highlighted.

“We hope that the iTown@SG app will not only help foster the building of stronger community bonds between the residents and town councils, but also improve the liveability of the estates,” said Dr Teo Ho Pin, Coordinating Chairman of the 15 PAP-run TCs.

The app, which allows residents to post pictures with their feedback, will also help to provide more accurate information and encourage resident engagement, he added. The feedback sent will be location-enabled, with the respective TC rectifying the issues that are flagged.

TCs will follow a prioritisation protocol and attend to feedback based on whether it is classified as “immediate”, “urgent” or “routine”.

Feedback with the “immediate” status, which usually concerns safety issues, will be attended to within 24 hours. Those labelled “urgent” or “routine” will be answered within three and five working days respectively.

A man trapped in a lift, for example, would be classified as “immediate” and be attended to within 25 minutes — the same time as calling the TC or lift service provider directly. A weathered footpath would be considered “routine”, but an uneven footpath caused by protruding tree roots, posing a fall hazard, would be “urgent”.

Although it is not known how much feedback will be generated through the app, Dr Teo said TCs typically receive an average of close to 100 feedback phone calls daily.

The app, available on both the iOS and Android platforms, is also integrated into the TCs’ Integrated Estates Management System. Each TC paid S$8,333 to develop the app, which was made in collaboration with Surbana Technologies, Nanyang Polytechnic and the Singapore Land Authority.

Four other TCs have introduced similar apps in the past: Ang Mo Kio, Bishan-Toa Payoh, Marine Parade and the Workers’ Party-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East.

Of these, the three PAP-run TCs are working to integrate their systems with iTown@SG, with work expected to be completed by the end of the year.