The popular image of a residents’ association is that of a group waging civic battles from its own little corner — and it does mesh with reality. An association may sometimes achieve synergy by associating with other residents’ groups in its metro.
Is it possible for residents’ associations to create a nation-wide network? The answer waits in New Delhi, and will be unwrapped on November 16 and 17, when representatives of more than 100 residents welfare associations from various cities would be meeting for a national conference.
The Confederation of Resident Welfare Associations (CoRWA) and the Confederation of NCR Resident Welfare Associations are organising the seventh national conference of RWAs.
The two-day event will have delegates presenting papers and subject matter experts discussing civic issues. There would also be officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs lending support to the citizens’ movement.
This year’s conference is based on the theme ‘Water Conservation and Management — Role of RWAs’.
Representatives of various RWAs will discuss the roles they played in rainwater harvesting and water conservation through various methods.
CoRWA was formed in 2012 with the Federation of Resident Welfare Associations of Hyderabad being the first member. It has today grown really big to include associations from different parts of the country. Ghaziabad and Visakhapatnam are a few cities with the maximum representation.
Every year, the Association conducts the conference at a different city.
Among the civic issues expected to be in focus at the conference are: introduction of underground metering of water system and ensuring more rights for RWAs at the local-bodies level.
“Every RWA is a primary school of democracy, we should be given more rights,” says Col. Tejendra Pal Tyagi, convenor of this year’s conference and a representative of Ghaziabad Federation of RWAs.
Over the years, CoRWA has transformed as a “policy-making body” in issues relating to solid waste management, housing societies, pollution and RERA Act.
One of the biggest achievements was issuing municipal bonds for cash-starved urban local bodies to raise funds for improving their civic infrastructure.
“Although this was launched 10 years ago, people knew little about it and how the funds could be used for civic projects,” says Col Tyagi. He says residents in cities like Mysore and Chinchwad have exercised this option for civic projects.
CoRWA also succeeded in having civic bodies made responsible for littering in the open. “Our solution to this was setting up “sanitary landfills”. In NCR, they have already started doing this,” says Col Tyagi.
KSR Muthy, who represent JR Nagar RWA at Visakhapatnam, says ever since the city hosted CoRWA a few years ago, even bureaucrats are seeing them in a new light.
RWAs are helping push citizens’ agenda for Visakhapatnam.
He says, “The Commissioner is mulling over starting a WhatsApp group consisting of RWA members and departments heads.”
Non-members or member of RWAs are welcome to attend the conference. For details, visit www.corwa.in
‘I am presenting a paper on encroachment-free platforms’
CoRWA has a small representation of association members from Chennai. J.M.S. Nagarjunan, who has attended the last three editions of the national conference, says he and other members are enaged in work aimed at encouraging more RWAs from Chennai to join the pan-India body.
“There is lot to learn and and we do gain a lot of understanding when we all come together,” says Nagarjunan, an association member of Anna Nagar Western Extension and executive vice-president of CoRWA.
At the conference, Nagarjunan will present a paper about the implementation of Street Vendors Act, 2014.
Though the central government has implemented legislation for street vendors, it has left the state government with the power to define specific rules.
“In every city, platforms are encroached upon by vendors,” he says, adding that pedestrians and vendors can co-exist.
Civic bodies have to earmark exclusive hawkers’ zone, but they should not be on on pavements.
To regulate vendors, state governments have to create exclusive vending zones similar to those found in T. Nagar, he says.
