Implementation of Community Participation Law

Following is the text of the letter addressed by Dr Ashwin Mahesh to Sri Suresh Kumar, Minister for UD, on the subject, along with his preface. I thought Prajagalu may want to contribute to the debate, and hence this post.

Continuing my series of open letters to political, administrative and regulatory heads, this week I thought I would write to the Urban Development Minister, seeking his intervention to implement the Community Participation Law, passed more than 18 months ago. I am printing the text of my letter below. I request those of you in RWAs, civil society orgs, rights groups to share and circulate these letter, whenever you agree with them. I am always happy to hear back from you, to improve the focus and effectiveness of these public demands.

Sri S Suresh Kumar
Minister for Urban Development
Government of Karnataka
Vidhana Soudha
Bangalore 560001

Re: Implementation of Community Participation Law

Dear Minister,

It is now more than 18 months since the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act was amended to introduce community participation in municipal governance in the State through the establishment of ward committees and ward sabhas. But still the law has not been implemented.

The delay is surprising, given the urgency with which it was passed. You may recall that when the law was being proposed by the Government, I met you along with a number of others to seek to strengthen its provisions. At that time, your Department officials indicated that there was no time for revisions, and it was urgently needed to pass the law (else JnNURM funds from the Centre would be stopped).

Non-involvement of the citizens in governance is one of the most important reasons for continuing corruption in public administration and politics. We must all fight this. If there are any valid reasons for this huge delay, please let the public know. For the moment, it appears that the law was passed simply to ensure that the State complies on paper with a Central scheme, but without any actual intent to implement it.

When I informally checked with your Department about the status of the law, I was told that the ‘we are finalizing the rules’. But too much time has passed since the law was enacted for this explanation to be credible. Your personal commitment and seriousness to get it implemented is now needed.

With warm regards, Ashwin