Will your neighbourhood look better and your civic problems disappear with the formation and functioning of Ward Committees (WCs) in 198 wards of Bangalore? Well, this concept seems to have been implemented in a hurry on the High Court directions and looks as if its actual 'take off' will need more time as the formulation of its rules is still in the draft stage while the composition of the committee itself, a moot question. Apart from this, neither the corporators nor its so-called members seem to be taking the concept forward as each committee is filled with sycophants, both men and women.
Earlier this year, the Karnataka High Court had instructed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to put online contact details of all ward committee members to enable citizens to reach out to their respective wards and apprise them of grievances, which, thankfully has been implemented. But, while ward committees have been formed in all the 198 wards and some of them have held 4-8 meetings till date, some have not even met once. In fact, in some wards, the members don't even know the existence of such a committee, therefore, the question of attending the monthly meeting hardly arises.
A reality check on the formation of ward committees and its functioning across the hundreds of wards from east to west and south to north shows that residents are pretty unhappy and even some of the nominated members express total dismay on the functioning of the committees. "We have not even seen one another," says a member, Ramesh.
Vasanthkumar Mysoremath, social activist and environmentalist said, "The methodology of formation of these WCs based on the High Court order is completely flawed. Another terrible thing is the corporator has been filling up the WC with his cronies, relatives and friends. How can a WC function as the veto power for implementing any developmental project wrests with the elected representative? If the people in a particular ward did not vote for him, those residents really had it. No work will be taken up in their area. The committee make up is so defective that it kills the very concept. Lot of improvements are needed to make the WC concept workable."
Says M Sudhindra, an urban development expert, "People who have been selected as members of the WCs, owe their allegiance to the corporator or the MLA. Looking at the composition of the committee, one can clearly see only 'his or her' men who definitely bow to the wishes of the corporator. There is no set agenda in the meeting when they meet and what the corporator decides is only
discussed.
To make our neighbourhood better and implement the projects on hand, what we need is transparency, proper selection of members while also breaking the stranglehold of the corporators and officials who have their own axe to grind. Another most important thing which is lacking in these WCs is that there is no fair representation from the public of a particular ward. If the corporator does not like somebody, it means that there is no representation."
According to Mysoremath, unlike in a rural body where we have a three-tier system of gram sabhas, taluk panchayats and zilla panchayats, in an urban area, there are no such systems. "The method of formation has been manipulated in such a way that the corporator is literally a monarch. We need members from every section, especially the RWAs (resident welfare association) and even experts to oversee the works. Otherwise, the whole purpose of WCs is defeated. The gazette notification on WC formation and functions is skewed and cites garbage management as the main function for citizens participation and needs to be elaborated further for making the WCs take part in a manner that suites inclusive growth."
(With inputs from A Sharadhaa)
Court's intervention
The 74th Constitutional amendment to the Nagarpalika Act to create WCs was never implemented till now. The process started only early this year with the HC's hearing on the garbage mess. With the issue turning into a Herculean problem, the court realised the need for regular monitoring and formation of WCs. However, the draft rules were finalised only recently and issued only after the court's intervention.
Draft rules submission
Anyone who has any ideas to make these WC more transparent and accountable can suggest or object to the WC draft rules. You can send your suggestions or objections to Draft Rules for Karnataka Municipal Corporation (Ward Committee) Rules 2012 in written format to Principal Secretary, Department of Urban Development, Vikasa Soudha, Bangalore- 560001. You can also mail to principalsecretary.udd@gmail.com. The last date for submissions is 27 September.
Drawbacks in draft rules
“There are no specific rules laid down in the draft rules for the appointment of the committee members. The termination of the WC depends on the tenure of the corporator. If the corporator's term terminates, WC will also be terminated. The rules also fail to address how these committees will be accountable to the Area Sabhas and how they will interact with the government and citizens. The draft rules give powers to the secretary of the committee to form the agenda in consultation with the chairman.
Here, the secretary is a designated officer appointed as per Sub-Section 4 of Section 13H of the Act, while the chairman is none other than the corporator. However, citizens should be able to suggest or complain to the WC members and accordingly, the agenda of the meetings should be drafted. The involvement of WC members in every level of implementation of development works should be incorporated,” says Vasantmumar Mysoremath