'Citizen participation through ward committees help in development'

Mangaluru will benefit from citizen participation through the institutional mechanism called Ward Committees, Kathyayini Chamaraj, executive trustee of Bengaluru-based CIVIC, said.

"Ward committees will help people’s participation in the governance," she said while delivering a talk at a webinar on ‘Decoding Ward Committees’, organised by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, a Bengaluru-based non-profit NGO, in association with Mangaluru Civic Groups (MCG) and active citizens.

She said 120 area sabhas have been notified in Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) limits for the first time in Karnataka. Though the number is not feasible for the population of Mangaluru city, something positive has taken place after a long struggle. “We need to explain to the high court that the number of area sabhas in MCC limits is not viable,” she stressed.

The resistance from elected representatives towards involving people in the decision-making process had delayed the formation of ward committees in Karnataka.

She said as per the direction of the high court, the ward committees should make an action plan for solid waste management. The ward committees should monitor the condition of roads and footpaths in their wards.

She said that ward committees in a few areas in Bengaluru had become grievances redressal forums, which should not happen in Mangaluru. The committee members cannot be removed all of a sudden, she added.

Srinivas Alavilli, head, Civic Participation, Janaagraha, urged MCG to ensure that more people apply for the ward committee membership.

He said more citizens are now coming forward to participate in the ward committee meetings in Bengaluru. "The ward committee meetings should be productive," he added.

Ajoy D'Silva, the co-founder of MCG, said the process of ward committees was initiated after a long struggle. Awareness is being created on the ward committees to help people apply for the committee, he said.

In the panel discussion, G K Bhat, member of Mangaluru City Traffic Advisory Committee, said attempts are being made to make followers of corporators as ward committee members. The corporators are not creating awareness on ward committees and are also not urging people to apply for the ward committees, he stated.

“Hence, I have been creating awareness that a person, without any political affiliation, is eligible to become a member of a ward committee. The lethargic attitude of the officials was seen when I went to submit my application,” he recollected.

Senior Advocate Asha Nayak said that the ward committees are mandated under the 74th Constitutional Amendment of the Constitution.

Dr Rita Noronha, director of Centre for Development Studies and Education, Civic and RTI activist Gerald Towers were also present in the panel discussion moderated by Harsha Raj Gatty, editor, Solmelu.