Another Addition to Irrational View on Mohalla Panchayats

Another Addition to Irrational View on Mohalla Panchayats

The reasons listed for the seventy third and seventy fourth amendments of the  Constitution  1992 have lamented on  the failures of deep rooting of Democracy in form of  functioning of Panchayati Raj and Municipalities . The amendment recognizes the the fact Article 40  has not been enforced and implemented. The article 40 which states “The State shall take steps to organize village Panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.”

The amendments while accepting failure go further in giving various proposals and modalities related to it. The amendments of 1992 go in further defining the roles of third level of Governance viz a viz the second level with regards to authority, devolution of powers and financial implication of decentralization.

One aspect on which both the amendments are silent upon is the reason of failure in implementation of Article 40 or self Governance. With all due respect to our peers of democracy, it seems that some ready made solution is being implemented without the diagnosis. Even the symptoms related to the malaise do not seem to be deliberated upon. Any student of any art or science in the present era will find it revolting way of solution.

Out of eighteen indicator to be addressed under NRDMS (Natural Resources Data Management System) under the twelfth schedule,  some require huge investment and other technical inputs which can’t be done by Nagar Panchayats, municipalities or even corporations.  For example Fire Services listed as seventh of the functional domain of Urban local bodies  needs technical expertise on regular basis , huge investment ,regular supervision . Similar is required for water supply, Public health,Sanitation,Poverty alleviation .  Authority without  responsibility is a catchy proverb but urban local bodies also seem to suffer from" Authority without Knowledge."

Some the activities listed in the scheduled can be transferred to smaller units of local governance or the Mohalla Sabhas . Handling of “Provision of Public amenities and facilities” can be experimented in this regard with little fuss and effort .  Part of revenue can be shared between the Mohalla Sabhas or Samitis and the third layer of local governance.  The requirement of  Public amenities in the locality can be best ascertained by the micro units of governance. Similarly  with a little inputs like training and continuous communication between the Sabhas and Municipalities , part of land use and construction of small buildings can be partially off loaded. Even in the registration of death and birth these micro units can be of great help to municipalities.

With some of it’s  far flung responsibilities transferred , the municipalities will gain in terms of efficiency  and can concentrate on the larger issues plaguing our urban and semi urban areas. However it will be temporary measures.

The central government  and Judiciary must be applauded in their effort in ensuring that elections are held in time and for reservation on basis of Gender and Scheduled Castes and Tribes. The reluctance of power sharing to the third tier of governance  by the legislative assemblies was immense however the Center and the Courts stood firm. Some fruits of the power sharing can be seen in the recent pasts in sewage treatment plans , water harvesting schemes of some municipalities  Much more is needed. Most state governments have still  not transferred some powers to the local governments. Nor have they been given adequate resources.

 The long term solution must flow from the up keepers of the Constitution. The Parliament must take the lead in this regard. Reasons of limitations and problems facing the local bodies should be revisited by the legislature and executive.

The dynamics of Indian Migration , though a complex phenomenon should be considered in defining ward and ward committees  Mohalla Sabhas can  form the basic  level of Democratic units in Urban areas. These Sabhas can be the base in deciding the level of  migration from rural areas . The needs of the locality base on influx should be looked into.

Another need of hour seems to be the resource crunch faced by these municipalities. Small entrepreneurs should encouraged in People Public Participation at micro level.  Avenues like FM radio based on broader principle as decided by Center can be revenue generator for municipalities. It can strengthen the Information system, Traffic and Policing within the Urban locality.

The  micro  election within these Mohalla Sabhas can be introduced at a later stage to enhance the self governance as desired in Article 40.

Addition to Irrational View on Mohalla Panchayats

It will be too idealistic and unimaginative to think that Mohalla Sabhas can replace the Municipalities and Municipal Corporations considering the fact that the Town Planning will go haywire if The former are given powers that could undermine the latter. The proper scenario would be that the Mohalla Committees can aid the Big Brother. It should be like  offloading some power and responsibilities to the Sabhas.  In turn it will be beneficial to Municipalities in terms of revenue generation and control.The offloading can of course lead to increase in efficiency.

Garbage collection and it’s disposal has become the obstreperous problem in town and cities today. The collection and disposal has been offloaded to contracts in most of the urban areas .This can very well be brought under preview of Mohalla Sabhas . Doorstep collection can be handed over to the smaller units . This will help these Sabhas to generate revenue too. Point to point collection and disposal in an environmental manner in mass scale can be done by the larger bodies.

Much better can be achieved in ensuring a vigil in the smaller locality if Mohalla Sabhas are given the responsibility of guarding their domain. This aspect of a visible security at door step is totally devoid of our system of municipalities. It can also ease out the pressure of local Police a wee bit.

Similarly maintenance of public amenities like parks, public toilets can be handed over to these small units of Mohalla Sabhas. Micro projects like building of new small public amenities and by lanes can be handed over to Mohalla Sabhas. The process in turn can mitigate red tap ism,corruption and make the working of local bodies more efficient.

Minimal charge on using public amenities aided with a small yearly grant from the municipal bodies can be the main source of revenue for these sabhas. Major  Budgetary allocation by the Municipalities will be with respect in specific works.

A fourth step or 4G democracy can be experimented without much labor pain..

Irrational View on Mohalla Panchayat

The blog is dedicated to a famous Economist and Author who devoted his valuable time in reading the incomplete piece and guided the Blogger to augment further the argument.

Social scientists agree that there is another divide between Urban,Semi Urban India and Rural India. It is not based on economic inequality, literacy or human index . This particular difference in much more relevant than all the factors combined. It borders on limits of existence even after Sixty odd years of Democratic rule.The term which comes most near to describe it is "Measure of Vigilance".

 Some factors which emanate from this "Measure of Vigilance" are right to be heard ,acceptance and duty towards society

 The Gram Sabhas show the real scenario.It has to meet at least twice or thricein a year to approve the annual budget of the gram panchayat and to review the performance of the gram panchayat. Gram sabhas offer the public access to democratic decision making at the grassroots level and it is imperative that all sections of society participate in such meets.These are seldom held on scheduled and if held are done in clandestine manner.Even if Gram Sabhas are held regularly ,most are stage managed.The essence of Panchayti Raj or people involvement as perceived by the Mahtma has been compromised. 

It will not be a exaggeration when one says that Rural India apes the Urban India in this age of communication.

 When AAP promise "Mohalla Sabhas" in its swaraj draft  social scientists and those in favor of decentralized power saw a ray of hope. Though the modalities were far from perfect it was seen as an experiment worth the risk.

Section of Media has phooed this draft bill citing paradigm shift in favour of masses .In an opinion in the Hindustan Times,the author writes that

But these sweeping powers come with no responsibility because one of the clauses states that no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding can be undertaken against ward sewaks, mohalla sewaks, mohalla sabha representatives and their employees. This blanket legal protection to the members of mohalla sabhas is against AAP’s commitment to transparency and accountability in public governance. - See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/comment/aap-s-mohalla-sabha-proposal-is-impractical-for-cities-like-delhi/article1-1182373.aspx#sthash.ogVxbxTo.dpuf.

 After the deepening of democratic norms most of the established democracies face the challenge of expansion. This involves applying the basic principle of democratic government across all the regions, different social groups and institutions. Ensuring greater power to local government is one way to cope up with the challenge of expansion. Whenever possible ,citizens should be able to participate in decision making, that affects them . One of the basic outcome of democracy should be that it produces a government that is responsive to the needs and expectations of the citizens.

The three tier governance when enforced in India paid  more importance to Village Gram Panchayats more that the Urban,semi Urban Municipal system. The genesis of non so successful local governance seems to lie in the sequence in which it was implemented. Implementation of Sabhas  in Mohallas and wards before Grams could have given better results .The success or the shortcomings of these Sabhas could have easily fine tuned the implementation of Three Tier Governance.

 Planning of small infrastructure with little help from expertise can be handed over to Mohalla Sabhas . The success of a well thought Plan depends on the succeeding actions like Do,Check and Act only. The centralized planning as practiced in our part of world has inherent pitfalls. Even the small plans are executed  verified and audited by different agencies . Mohalla Sabha can very well be an answer to bring equilibrium between PDCA cycle.

In general terms,it will mean nurturing and strengthening those institutions that help people’s participation and control. It also will be perceived as an attempt to bring down the control and influence of the rich and powerful people in decision making. It can also help in removing alienation of the people.

Reduction in corruption and better administrative control are other benefits the Mohalla Sabhas can ensure other than propagation of true Democracy,pioneering of efficient Gram Sabha and removal of alienation.

 It is true that the bill needs fine tuning on many accounts regards the responsibility of “Mohalla Sabhas”. A nation wide debate on this can be started. We should focus on the debate to better the draft through deliberations and suggestion. Onus of Media and ideologues should be fore mount in this debate.

Aping will follow in GramSabha naturally