Members of various civic organisations and Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWA) as well as individuals have appealed to the state government to include their suggestions in the rules of the Draft Ward Committee and Area Sabha.
A public consultation programme on ‘Draft Ward Committee and Area Sabha Rules’ was organised by the Citizens’ Voluntary Initiative for the City (CIVIC) and Environment Support Group (ESG) here on Saturday.
Executive trustee of CIVIC, Kathyayini Chamaraj, said the 74th amendment to the Constitution stresses on giving power to the people. But, when the draft rules on the Ward Committee and Area Sabhas were framed, there was no public participation, she said. “There are no criteria to select members. They should not belong to any political party or have criminal charges against them and should be selected by RWAs or trade association to work at the grassroots,” she said.
Kathyayini also suggested that each member of the Ward Committee be given different issues like solid waste management, water supply, health and welfare schemes to manage.
Yogendra Manjunath of Aam Aadmi Party said those who lost the BBMP elections be made members.
Mallikarjun, a resident of Sadashivanagar, said the age limit for members should be 80 years. Manjunath, representing the Association of People with Disabilities, urged authorities to include a disabled person as a member while Jyothi, a resident of Vijayanagar, said official ID cards should be given to Ward Committee members.