The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has come up with a new policy for social media engagement, urging citizens to avoid using social media platforms for any complaint related to the highway and directing them to use the Rajmargyatra app.
The policy is released on Wednesday and outlines a well-defined framework for social media interaction and online reputation management for NHAI’s headquarters, regional offices and project implementing units.
According to the new norms, the officials will have to keep a check on social media every day for discussions on national highway related issues like that of the toll plaza, FASTag, road traffic accidents, potholes, maintenance and road safety.
The growing power of digital platforms has led to a need for a unified approach to communication when handling misinformation and to make sure people are not missing out on the opportunity to hear the message at an appropriate time,” the authority said.
With regards to the framework, NHAI headquarters will monitor online reputation management, monitor response during emergencies and provide communication advisories. Complaints made at the amount of region will be cross-checked with the field units and project implementation units will give field-level updates.
This circular will require the regular surveillance of social media between 6AM and 10PM each day, even weekends and public holidays. Officials will be monitoring 24 hours a day until 24×7 monitoring is until a major incident or emergency is resolved.
An important aspect of this policy, is the availability of a request to those using social media to register by making an actionable complaint, diverting them to a new application called Rajmargyatra, where they will be able to send a complaint that will be tracked and resolved.
The policy also provides the standard operating procedures (SOP) for dealing with misinformation/fake news and online coordinated campaigns associated with NHAI projects and services.