Ward committees, which aim to empower citizens so that they can oversee and monitor governance at the local level and bring accountability to the civic body, have yet to fulfil their potential. In the 10 months since monthly ward committee meetings were made compulsory, residents and citizens’ groups in several neighbourhoods have struggled to put in place effective mechanisms.
Srinivas Alavilli of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) estimates that of the 198 wards in the city, committees in not more than 70 or 80 are active. Since December 2018, of the 1,900 meetings that were supposed to have taken place, less than half — 700 — were held. “The single biggest problem is that there has not been a single month in which all 198 wards conducted meetings. However, we are optimistic as it is not a bad start and some wards are doing extremely well. At this juncture, it is important to protect and promote this initiative as it has tremendous potential to transform the city’s governance.”
Sreenivasa Rao, a volunteer with CfB, said wards such Basaveshwara Nagar, Kaveripura, Gandhinagar and Shakthi Ganapathi Nagar have held just a few meetings to date.
Lack of awareness
Lack of awareness on how ward committees should function, not just among citizens but also among ward committee members and councillors, is a deterrent.
Stressing the importance of making information available in the public domain, Sapna Karim of Janaagraha, said there is a gap in simplified data being available for citizens to use. Minutes of meeting, she said, should be available in the public domain. “This is the only way follow-up action can be monitored and accounted for in a timely manner. We should endeavour to ensure they do not end up as just another grievance platform,” she said.
In September so far, only two wards — Shettihalli and HSR Layout — have uploaded minutes of meeting on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) website.
Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun, while admitting that this was a problem area, said citizens and ward committee members need more time. “We are still in the infancy stage and will definitely grow with time and experience,” she said.
There are calls for the BBMP to train stakeholders on how to conduct ward committee meetings and get the most out of them. When the matter was raised earlier this month, civic officials said they plan to bring out booklets to enlighten citizens about their rights.
Agenda problem
Another issue is the lack of agenda for meetings. Important issues are not circulated prior to the meeting, making it difficult for citizens to come prepared. In some cases, the meetings devolve into residents discussing trivial issues, said some residents’ welfare association members. “A notice seven days prior to the meeting is hardly issued. As a result, citizens are unable to attend or have no time to prepare. This is probably deliberately done in order to not involve the general public,” said Kathyayini Chamaraj of CIVIC, a citizens’ initiative.
As per the rules, a public notice regarding the meetings have to be put up at all government offices, but this is not always followed. “Elected representatives are not willing to share the power of policy- and decision-making with the public,” Ms. Chamaraj said.
Another activist said that in many wards, councillors are not responsive and just claim to have conducted the meetings. “Meetings are conducted whenever they want, without any prior information.”
