VISAKHAPATNAM: Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) should bring pressure on elected representatives and officials for improvement of amenities, and dictate the agenda of the development of their cities, Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has said.
Inaugurating the fourth national conference of the RWAs organised by the Resident Welfare Associations of Visakhapatnam at the Integral Institute of Advanced Management on Saturday, he said development and good governance should be the focal points, and if there was development people would pay taxes.
Following the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, five per cent of the grants under it were directly going to the local bodies, the Minister said.
“Some beginning has to be made, and that is why 100 cities have been selected to serve as lighthouses to the 4,041 cities in the country,” he said.
“Smart city would have to make life comfortable for everyone, and RWAs should try to focus on 24-hour water and power supply, roads, drains, rainwater harvesting, and exploiting solar energy,” the Union Minister said.
The Smart City Advisory Forum also should comprise the RWAs. They should also be vehicles for information, education, and communication activities, Mr. Naidu said.
Cities should be able to repay the investments that were coming in for development, and public-private partnership was the need of the hour, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said.
RERA Act
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, had been brought in as fly-by-night operators and some companies were turning defaulters. There was a vast difference in what was promised and delivered. The rules had been notified.
“I am pursuing with the State governments, which also have to frame rules and appoint regulators,” he said. By January, the rules would be published, he added.
Conference organising committee president Uday Shirname urged the Union Minister to “incentivise and revitalise” the RWAs as per the 74th Amendment of the Constitution, and provide them representation in ward committees.
Convener of Confederation of RWAs, New Delhi, Col. T.P. Tyagi, secretary-general Sharad Kumar, United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations, Hyderabad, general secretary, B.T. Srinivasan, and conference general secretary K.S.R. Murthy participated.
