Citizens take hands-on approach to local Governance

Ward committee meets drawing good response, say organisers

By NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Over 400 people attending a workshop on Ward Committees, organized by Bengaluru-based  NGO, Janaagraha on Saturday.  It’s a strong indicator of the citizens’ willingness to participate -  and take a hands-on approach - to  the way the city is run. It is also  an important step towards decentralised governance, which  urban experts and concerned  citizens have talked about for  years. In fact, a Janaagraha survey, details of which were revealed on Saturday, showed that  a record 4,219 ward committee  meetings have been held across  the BBMP’s 198 wards between  August 1 2020 and September 4,  2021. Citizens who have been regular participants in ward-committee meetings described their  experiences at the workshop.  Thulasi Maddineni, Special  Commissioner (Finance) was  also in attendance.

Much of the discussion centred around the effective utilisation of the Rs 60 lakh that the  BBMP has allotted to each ward  committee. This sum is to be directed towards three core areas  - footpaths, potholes and borewells. “It is not a big amount but  it is a beginning. We can definitely work towards increasing it in  future,” Maddineni remarked.  Democracy will flourish, she  said, only when “citizens particip a t e a n d d e m a n d  accountability.”

The willingness of the people  to spend time and effort towards  the development of their city  makes Bengaluru unique, Maddineni said. “I request citizens to  take part in the ward committee  meetings.” Progress has been  slow at times, she admitted, due  to fund and capacity constraints.  “However, I am confident that we  will be successful.”

The Ward Committee Workshop is proof that Bengalurueans are eager to participate in  civic administration and many  of them already do. “Bengaluru  is the only big city which has  functional Ward Committees  that also have funds allotted to  them. We are determined to use  this opportunity provided by the  BBMP to improve the wards,”  said Srinivas Alavilli, Head, Civic Participation, Janaagraha.  “We invite all citizens to join  their ward committees so that local issues can be resolved  locally.”

The survey, explains Srinivas,  reveals that ward committees are  alive and well in Bengaluru. “We  have noticed that wards with active citizen groups function better,” he said. “There are also a  few wards where meetings have  not been conducted. It is important to equip the BBMP with all  this information so that they can  focus on improving ward  committees.”

With over 4200 ward committee meetings taking place in the  city over a 12-month period, decentralisation is clearly coming  alive in Namma Bengaluru, said  Sapna Karim, Head, Civic Participation, Janaagraha. “It will  take time to mature and emerge  as the most effective platform of  local governance but citizen efforts go a long way in keeping the  flame burning.”

Survey Highlights

Out of 198 wards, only 40% Nodal  Officers (76 NOs) were able to effectively respond and answer all  queries regarding Ward Committee Meetings for this survey.

1. Bengaluru conducted 4219  Ward Committee Meetings between August 1, 2020 – September 4, 2021. This means 181 ward  committee meetings were held  every month on average.

2. Around 17% of the wards have  performed exceptionally well,  conducting two meetings a month  on average.

3. 72 wards, around 36% of the  wards successfully conducted 1  meeting per month.

4. Two wards – Hombegowda  Nagara and Gottigere, conducted  100% of meetings and were consistent in uploading the proceedings on the website.

5. Vasantha Nagara, Kumaraswamy Layout, Dayananda  Nagara conducted 25+ meetings  but failed to upload even a single  MoM from the meeting.

6. 54 Wards have exhibited 75%  and above conformity to the  revised mandate by conducting at  least 21 or more meetings out of  27 during the survey period.

7. 65 Wards have exhibited  less than 25% adherence to the  revised mandate by conducting  less than 7 meetings during the  survey period.

8. Of the 54 wards that conducted 21+ meetings in the survey  period, a large majority failed  to upload more than 50% of the  WCM proceeding