Confederation of Resident Welfare Associations ( CoRWA) - Updates

Shri Sukthankar to continue as Patron AGNI-Mumbai

Mr. D. M. Sukthankar IAS (Retd), AGNI Chairman and Managing Trustee, has decided to lay down his office. Pressed not to cut off his association, Mr. Sukthankar has agreed to be Patron. He was formerly Chief Secretary of Maharashtra State after functioning as Secretary, U r ban             D e v e l o p m ent, GoI and Municipal Commissioner of Greater Mumbai, after having held other numerous offices of high responsibility in government.

Housing Societies Show Compassion in Pandemic in Bandra

In the first lockdown, promulgated by    the government on March25, 2020, widely considered to be one of the most stringent in the world, apart from NGOs, the Housing Societies have displayed compassion and stepped up their assistance to the poor as well as distressed migrant workers. Mohit Pande, Chairman of Tata Symphony Housing Society in Lwardanda member of AGNI, described briefly to Pamela Cheema of MMJ, how his Society partnered with a neighbouring housing society, Synchronicity, to feed workers who were on the edge of starvation.

Indian Development Foundation

The Indian Development Foundation (IDF) has found support coming from unexpected avenues. Two teenagers from Mumbai have helped IDF to raise funds to mobilise1.32lakhmealsforthe needy in the city, who needed relief.

Ghar Bachao, Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA) and Helping Hands Charitable Trust, led by Bilal Khan, Lara Jesani and Anil Hebbar have initiated fund raising on Ketto.org on March 26, 2020,as the Lockdown began.

Project Mumbai

It provided meals to 45 lakh homeless people and migrants, and grocery kits to over 20,000 families, according to Shishir Joshi, founder of Project Mumbai. Mrs. Marina Ponti, global director, UN SDG Action Campaign congratulated Project Mumbai for their solidarity and determination to improve others' lives, inspire resilience, and lift hopes in the face of this crisis.

From: “Mumbai Mere Jaan”Sharad Kumar, editor. AGNI www.agnimumbai.in, e-mail:mmj.agni@gmail.com tel:24165956

RWAs in New Town, Kolkatta

All the RWAs are helping their residents to follow the norms regarding COVID-19, such as access to hospital beds ,home isolation ,awareness programs in markets ,taking care of immigrants ,construction workers in their vicinity and also holding Rakhee festival with frontline workers.

The Poster Hatao Man of Delhi

A few weeks ago, the retired Colonel Shivraj and his wife Laxmi have travelled to Trichy, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, and Dindigul, talking to local people and tearing down posters that deface public walls. Their aim is to create more awareness among people and make the country poster-free. "The Prime Minister has launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and we are trying in our own way to clean the country," said the 82-year-old, who started the Poster Hatao campaign in Delhi in 2009. "The Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act 2007 became operative in March 2009. As the president of my colony in Delhi, I felt that most of the residents wanted to get rid of the posters somehow." Since then, he has taken the campaign to Mumbai in 2011 and to Chennai in 2013. 

Col Shivraj and Laxmi have been coming to Chennai every year since 2013, trying to meet government officials and going round the city tearing down posters. In 2014, Col Shivraj managed to meet the then chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar and helped him to remove illegal posters or hoardings during the Model Code of Conduct period. 

Note:    We regret to inform the passing away of Col. Shivraj Kumar, the Poster Hatao man of Delhi NCR from Kashyap & Chumki, Jaya & Satish, Praavita, Pradyut and Uthayya: 9810210452.

Jan Vikas RWA, Delhi

Shri. Ajay Kumar, President, Shri. Rohit, Secretary and other residents of Jan Vikas RWA visited Ms Vaishali Poddar’s house and  presented Corona Warrior certificate for efficient services rendered. 

Jan Vikas RWA, 1005,I-Block, Mangol Puri, Delhi- 83 M:9871264435,8510000420

Ghaziabad:                                   

RWAs should be treated as the 4th Tier of Governance

Shri Ajay Shankar Pandey  Ji, Jai Hind,                                                                                                     27th August,2020 

Every RWA is a primary school of Participatory Democracy. To meet the aspirations of the RWAs, the governance should occur at a lower level closer to the people. Whatever functions can be performed by a  lower body, need not be performed by a higher body. 

The fourth tier can be defined as a micro-urban community which function autonomously in a specified area by way of associational governance. This is RWA and this is mini-municipality. The interaction and cooperation of the members of the 4th tier of Governance is direct, frequent, close and instant. Usually, there is no room for indifference and non-cooperation. At the RWA level, there is no scope for delays, since those who suffer are the stake-holders themselves. There is no scope for corruption since the interested parties themselves are the beneficiaries. The quality of works carried out would be excellent, since they cannot pass on the blame to others. Finally, there is no need for social audit.

Power does not flow like water from top to bottom; on the other hand, when it is concentrated, it tends to stagnate and smell bad. Therefore, we request you to fix time and date for a meeting with the Federations to consider the following :-

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): : The RWAs should be authorised  for ADR in local matters by mediation or arbitration..( Challans,,Fines etc)

NOC from RWA : All ownership transfers of the houses or units and banks should obtain a No Objection certificate from the concerned RWA

Since Nagar Nigam has failed to provide service level bench marks, it should divert the performance grant to RWAs.

RWAs should be associated with all policies made for the people at least at the conceptual stage by all departments

Works like Maintenance of Parks, Fogging, Surveys for voting, population ,immunization, face lift to an area, payment of conservancy staff etc should be given to RWAs with honorarium.

Col Tejandra Pal Tyagi, Veer Chakra

Chairman, RWA Federation and Flat Owners Federation Ghaziabad

Copy to : Commissioner, Meerut Division & VC, GDA and City Commissioner, Nagar Nigam

A Civic Group Gets WC & AS for Mangaluru City  in Karnataka

On 13th August, 2020, thanks to the initiative of MCC Civic Group, the founder of which are: Nigel Albuquerque and AjoyD’silva, Smt Kathyayini Chamaraj, Executive Trustee, CIVIC Bangalo Kumar, President, Nagarika Shakti ® & State  Joint  Secretary Bribe-Free Karnataka ®, both from Bengaluru,& Karnataka Ward Samithi Vedike (KWSV), the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Council has unanimously formed Ward Committees& Area Sabhas. The meeting is attended by  MCC Commissioner Dinesh Kum Diwakara Pandeshwar, MCC Deputy Mayor Mrs Vedavathi Janaki ,and Co Members- Ms Poornima, Sharath Kumar, Kiran Kumar and Jagadish.

On constant follow up efforts of MCC Civic Group with former M Kumar Hegde Shanady resulted in WP 53244/2018, where the Chief Justice Abhay Shreenivas Oka sent  ‘Show  Cause  Notice’  to the officials regarding Ward Committes and gave the order for their formation.

The Group Administrator Nigel Albuquerque and many of them have been discussing as to why the Mangaluru city corporation did not form the WC and AS.

Following the seriousness of the issue the MCC Civic Group had decided to form ward committees in all the 60 wards, at a time when the ‘smart city mode’ is to help make it a bottoms up model and not a top down planning. The authorities have also welcomed the MCC Civic Group. Even after the judgement was passed by HC to form Ward Committees, they were not constituted for 3 and 1/2 months.

The Area Sabha and Ward Sabha are not decision making bodies and have no powers to exercise. However, they have certain functions to perform: Generate proposals and determine priorities, including Ward Development Plan, identifying beneficiaries under government sponsored welfare schemes, identify deficiencies in the services provided by the municipality in street lights, public taps, public conveniences, to cooperate with the maintenance of sanitation staff, and imparting awareness on matters of public interest, like environmental care and pollution.

Ajoy D’silva speaking to Mangalorean.com said “ Today is Accountability, Responsibility & Transparency – ART of Governance day for Mangaluru.”

U-FERWAS, TS

Meeting with Health Minister TS 

A meeting with Hon'ble Health Minister Sri Etela Rajender garu is held on 25th August with U-FERWAS representatives. The meeting is strictly on the present COVID situation in Greater Hyderabad and the community engagement.

Involving the Resident Welfare Associations in sharing information about the location and functioning of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in various areas of the twin cities. 2. Community testing facilities in respective community areas monitored by PHCs or other organisations like CCMB. 3. Information on facilities available in Government Hospitals and sharing on information of Covid positive cases ward wise so that RWAs can monitor the condition of home isolation and mild cases. 4.UFERWAS voluntary services for managing call centre, administration duties as well as counselling of the covid affected.

Furthermore, the Health Minister has subsequently confirmed the another meeting with the RWAs on 28th August.

B.T. Srinivasan, 

General Secretary, United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations, 

Greater Hyderabad.

UFERWAS members, B T Srinivasan, Maj Shiva Kiran, KHS Sarma, A Murali Krishna, Mrs. Medha Agashe, K Raghavendra Rao, K Govind Narayanan, along with Sri. Marri Rajasekhara Reddy, Malkajgiri Parliament in charge from TRS in the distribution of the Ganesh idols with plant-seeds on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturdhi in Malkajgiri.