The Hindu : Front Page : Community Participation Fund planned

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Saturday, Aug 23, 2008
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Community Participation Fund planned

K.V. Prasad

The objective is to create assets for local communities
About 1,000 projects have been identified

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation is planning a Community Participation Fund for carrying out development works identified by the people for their locality. This concept focuses on the micro-level needs of residential colonies in the cities. For instance, the projects can be carried out for each of the 72 wards in the city or each ward can even have sub-zones.

The cost of each project shall not exceed Rs.10 lakh and ten per cent of this cost will come from the people as they will use the facility. The urban poor need to pay only five per cent. The Coimbatore Corporation recently held workshops to explain the concept to its councillors and officials.

This is part of the community participation in development that the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission insists upon.

The objective is to create assets for local communities and make them develop a sense of ownership. The mission feels that public participation is low in identifying infrastructure needs or in their implementation.

The mission has identified about 1,000 projects that can be implemented with community participation. Coimbatore is one of the 63 cities chosen for infrastructure development under the mission. As for the projects, these should directly meet the needs of the locality.

These can be for the construction of vegetable and fruit markets, special centres for the aged, multi-purpose health centres, crèche for the children of working mothers, community halls or parks. Proposals can also be submitted for group water distribution projects for slums that should be managed by the users’ clubs or associations.

Residents’ welfare associations, neighbourhood groups, youth clubs and shopkeepers associations can involve in identifying what their localities need. Only if the community lacks the required expertise, can it engage a non-Governmental organisation.

The urban local body (here the Corporation) will provide 90 per cent of the project cost to the NGO, to be deposited in a bank account opened in its name. It has to collect the 10 per cent community contribution and deposit it in the account. The proposal for any project should have the signed approval of 51 per cent of the voters of the locality.

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