Mangaluru: To strengthen civic participation and facilitate ward committee meetings with citizens in Mangaluru, Mangaluru City Corporation and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy organised a Ward Committee training workshop for the newly appointed Ward Committee members on Thursday at Kundmul Rangarao Townhall.
Inaugurating the programme, Mangaluru Mayor Premanand Shetty said that Ward Committees act as link between the ward residents and Corporators who represent the Mangaluru City Corporation.
“Mangaluru is the second city in the state to implement Ward Committees. The members have many responsibilities. They need to assess the facilities and infrastructure in the ward, ensure Solid Waste Management happens effectively, ensure timely collection of taxes, prepare and submit ward development scheme to the Corporation among others. Hence, it is important that Ward Committees meet every month to enhance transparency, accountability and smooth functioning,” the Mayor said.
“There are a few criteria for one to become a ward committee member. In some wards, we could not find eligible applicants. We will be taking steps in the future days to invite applicants in these wards and hence strengthen the ward committees to function in its full capacity,” the Mayor added.
“Ward Committees are a constitutional mandate. There were some challenges in forming Ward Committees in Mangaluru. But this was because we wanted to ensure it happens in a proper and transparent manner. We invited applications, objections and even assessed every objection we received. We worked with the Police Commissioner to verify the profiles of the Ward Committee applicants and then the final list was released. We are open to changes if any issues, even in the future. We want citizens to have confidence in this decentralized process,” said Mangaluru City Commissioner Akshy Sridhar.
“To ensure Ward Committees function smoothly, we need to have a collaborative approach and not a conflict approach. Ward Committees need to work as a consulting body where problems can be discussed and solutions can be thought about and implemented,” Sridhar added.
Speaking on the commencement of Ward Committees, the dates and venues will be announced at the earliest, Sridhar said.
Sapna Karim, Head, Civic Participation, Janaagraha, resource person for the Workshop, explained functions of Ward Committees, responsibilities of the Ward Committee members as well as the process on how Ward Committees meetings need to be held.
“Ward Committees are a starting point of governance that a citizen can engage with. It empowers citizens to vote on local decisions. Helps implement ''bottom-up" approach in planning and budgeting. Ward Committees play a key role in planning, prioritizing, supervising & validating civic works,” Sapna added.
Dr Shikaripura Krishnamurthy, Director, Abhiyanam, Organisation for Research and Training in HRD said that Ward Committees play a key role in deciding the development of the Ward. He said that every member needs to assess the facilities in the ward and grade the ward. Only then, one can get a clear idea on what the ward lacks and how it can be developed. Each ward member should inculcate a competitive spirit to make their ward the best, he added.