Let's Demand Empowerment now !

THEY JUST PROMISE BUT NEVER EMPOWER THE RWAS. LET'S DEMAND IT NOW. JOIN US IN RAISING OUR VOICES. PLEASE SHARE YOUR CONTACT DETAILS ON OUR EMAIL ID: rwabhagidari@yahoo.in

Amid Delhi Sealing Drive, Traders And RWAs Turn To Govt For A Concrete And Legally Binding Solution: The Wire

New Delhi: Even as the ongoing sealing drive in Delhi has sent shivers down the spine of the trading community, which stands at 7 lakh traders, leaving them wary about being sealed by the Supreme Court appointed monitoring committee, both residents welfare associations (RWAs) and traders are pinning their hopes on the all-party meeting called by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tomorrow to arrive at a concrete and legally binding solution.

Sealing resumed after apex court order

While it’s still not certain if the Congress and the BJP would be participating in the meeting, called at the CM’s residence, the traders are hoping that even if the political parties do not come together on a common platform due to political considerations, they should at least play their individual roles to remove the sword of sealing which has been hanging over their heads ever since the Committee resumed the exercise in December 2017.

After a brief stoppage in the drive in February, the sealing resumed after the Supreme Court earlier this month restrained the Centre, Delhi government and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from amending the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 to provide relief to the traders.

In its order of March 7,  the apex court had also pulled up the Delhi government, civic bodies and the DDA for not replying to the queries put up by it in the matter.

Kejriwal has called an all-party meeting

With sealing resuming in several parts of the city, traders have been a rattled lot as their establishments were forced shut, impacting their livelihood. Kejriwal had also shot off letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Lieutenant Governor urging their immediate intervention in the matter. In the meantime, Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken also sought a meeting from Kejriwal on the issue, responding to which the chief minister sent invitations for a meeting on February 13 to Maken and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. All parties have been urged to limit their participation to three members each to prevent chaos. This assumes significance as another meeting called at Delhi Secretariat a month ago between BJP and Aam Aadmi Party leaders had ended up in a commotion following which even an FIR was registered.

With a large number of units having already been sealed, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has called for a city-wide strike on February 13. Its secretary general Praveen Khandelwal told The Wire that “about 6 lakh traders of Delhi could be impacted by the sealing drive while only about 1 lakh may not be impacted at all”.

‘Delhi government, Centre should pass bills to protect traders’

As such, he said, the demands of the traders are twofold: “We want the Delhi government to bring a bill for securing moratorium against sealing on the first day of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly on March 16 and we want them to send it to the Centre. We also want the Centre to introduce and pass this Bill in the ongoing second half of the Budget session of Parliament, which is empowered to provide relief to the affected traders.”

Khandelwal said the process of drafting the Master Plan for Delhi 2021-41 has also started and so if the sealing is halted for the time being, through the new plan it can be ensured that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

‘MCD, monitoring committee overstepped jurisdiction’

He also accused the municipal corporations and the monitoring committee of acting way beyond their powers. “The MCD should only carry out sealing through the due process of law as has been specified in the MCD Act. But it is not doing so. The court-appointed monitoring committee is also violating the law. The MCD Act states that before carrying out any raid, the municipal commissioner will file a complaint with the municipal magistrate, a notice would then be sent to those accused of any violation, they will respond to it and following a hearing the matter would first go to the appellate tribunal and then the Lieutenant Governor. Only if the appeal is rejected from there too will the sealing be carried out. The monitoring committee has not followed these statutory provisions so the sealing is illegal,” he charged.

On the issue of the RWAs claiming that commercialisation adds to pollution or burdens the infrastructure, he said this was not a correct argument as shops are largely non-polluting and operate for limited hours. Likewise, water and electricity supply are not impacted much during daytime when the shops operate. As for parking, Khandelwal squarely blamed the residents for keeping more cars than they should. “It is their cars which keep the colonies clogged all day through, why blame us,” he countered.

Finally, he said, the commercialisation has actually been done by the residents who gave out their buildings for commercial use. “Why are they opposing the idea after making the gains.”

The CAIT, he said, has given a bandh call for March 13 to press for its demands. As for the all-party meeting the same day, he said whether it is held or not the Delhi government and the Centre should pass the bills to ameliorate the sufferings of the traders.

The RWAs for their part want solid assurances now from the governments that unbridled liberalised commercialisation would not be allowed in the residential areas of Delhi any more.

Fictitious RWAs being floated to counter the fight of residents

Rajiv Kakria of Greater Kailash-I RWA, who had earlier made a representation to the monitoring committee on how the norms of commercialisation were being flouted, said: “We have now brought all the RWAs of the city together for the “Save Our City Campaign”.”

He charged that politicians and traders are trying various tricks to derails the people’s campaign for clean living. “Many fictitious RWAs have been approaching the monitoring committee to stop sealing.” Also, he said that in many areas the RWA office bearers were being forced to toe political lines.

But despite these hindrances, he said, the fight is on and that the RWAs has sought guidance from the monitoring committee on how they can implead in the Supreme Court in the ongoing case on the challenge to the ‘NCT of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2007’ and the subsequent extensions to it.

The RWAs, he said, have also brought it to the notice of the monitoring committee that most of the commercial establishments had opened in residential areas because setting them up cost about 75% less than it would have in a local shopping centre or a commercial complex. It is because of this that there were few takers for notified commercial zones, he said.

The RWAs had also brought it to the notice of the monitoring committee that in the name of professional firms of lawyers, chartered accountants, architects and doctors, large commercial establishment employing large number of staff have opened up in residential areas and this has impacted parking in many colonies.

Also, it was pointed out that “surrogate businesses” have sprung up in the name of professional services. So now ice-cream parlours masquerade as dairies, boutiques as tailors, gift shops as stationary shops and the like.

Get impact assessment done for commercial activity

Pankaj Agarwal of Delhi RWAs Joint Front said in light of this situation, the demand of the RWAs is that “for whatever commercialisation you are doing in a residential area, please get the impact assessment done for that”.

He said about 12 years ago, when the sealing issue had first cropped up and mixed land use was allowed, it was assured that parking and matching infrastructure would be created in colonies which fell on the 2,100 roads on which mixed land use was permitted. Some norms were also created to overcome the problems.

‘100 promised multi-level parkings not made, infrastructure not augmented’

However, he said, the norms were not fulfilled. “One of them pertained to constructing 100 very big multi-level parkings in the city, but that was not done. Another was to augment water, sewer, water and solid waste management infrastructure. All the funds were collected by the municipal corporations but there was no upgrading. The terms and conditions also included leaving of setback at the front and back of buildings and retaining the residential character of the colonies.”

In most places, Agarwal said, big showrooms have come up on the lower floors and offices and guest houses above them. “So while use of only ground floor was permitted under mixed land use, all the norms were either not fulfilled or violated.”

On the recent amendments which were stayed, he said: “Now they want to allow more floor area ratio by amending the Master Plan for Delhi 2021. This would only add to the congestion. We have been demanding that in local markets the FAR should be increased for only trades which cater to the local needs – not for pubs or liquor shops, as is the case in my colony, Safdarjung Development Area.”

Agarwal said the RWAs are okay if sealing is deferred but want long term solutions to the problems being faced by residents. He also insisted that the Monitoring Committee was adhering to the law while carrying out its sealing drive. “We agree that some pain is being caused to people who are losing their business or employment, but whatever is being done by the Committee is in accordance with the law.”

B.S. Vohra of East Delhi RWAs Joint Front said ideally representatives of the trading community and RWAs should also have been called for the all-party meeting that has been convened by Kejriwal. “We as residents also believe that a lot of wrong has happened to those traders whose establishments have been sealed but at the same time the amendment to the MPD 2021 which allows for commercial use of all basements would only lead to further chaos. We do not have the kind of infrastructure to support such largescale commercialisation and congestion.”

Protect residential character of colonies, make commissioners accountable

Demanding that the “residential character of the colonies” should not be destroyed, he said the new proposed modifications are not the solution as they would lead to complete commercialisation of all colonies. “If you would allow commercial activity in all basements, it would lead to chaos. Already people are facing problems, so this would lead to further congestion. They are also saying increase the electricity load from 5 kw to 11 kw. So we believe that some restrictions should be imposed on traders who have already set up shop. But what is being done is that they are incentivising construction of basements for commercial use all over the city.”

The solution, Vohra said, lay in giving serious thought to the issue and finding a way by which the traders do not lose their livelihood and the residential character of Delhi is also not demolished. Agreeing that assurances given in the past have not been fulfilled, he said “the need of the hour was to set up an effective monitoring mechanism. That can be done by making the commissioners accountable for the violation of MPD norms in their respective areas.”

with thanks: The Wire: LINK

Mr Arvind Kejriwal - what happened to the RWAs Empowerment Vision plan ?

10^th April, 2017

Mr Arvind Kejriwal, CM, Delhi

Mr Manish Sisodia, Dy CM, Delhi

Dear Sir,

In a meeting with the RWAs of Delhi, before the last assembly elections, you had made huge promises, on the issue of Empowerment of RWAs. Though your RWAs Empowerment Vision plan is still visible on your website, it seems that all the promises that you made with the RWAs of Delhi have vanished. 

Please go through your RWAs Empowerment Vision plan, as visible on your website, as below : 

AAP announces the RWAs empowerment vision plan : 

* AAP unveils its citizens empowerment vision document 

AAP promises RWA Act to give them legal sanctity

* Rs four crore citizen Local Area Development Fund annually for each vidhan sabha

This will be solely for recognized RWAs who follow guidelines

*  No interference of MP/MLA in this fund

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday unveiled its citizens empowerment plan at the conference of the Resident Welfare Associations in the national capital.

At a conference attended by the representatives of over 700 RWAs across Delhi, former chief minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal announced the party’s stand of setting up a Citizens Local Area Development Fund after giving a legal sanctity to RWAs by passing a RWA Act in the state assembly.

Kejriwal announced that after being elected by the people in the long overdue assembly elections, the AAP government’s priority will be to empower the RWAs by creating a Citizens Local Area Development Fund in each assembly constituency of Delhi and this fund will be equal to that of the MLA Local Area Development Fund.

He proposed an amount of Rs four crore annually to allow the legally recognized the RWAs  to carry out their local development, repair and welfare works without any external interference, once the RWA Act will come into existence.

The AAP proposes to streamline the functioning of RWAs in consultation with them. Kejriwal proposed the following steps to allow smooth functioning of the RWAs :

1)    There should be only be a single RWA in a locality.

2)    It should be registered.

3)    It should have free and fair elections at regular intervals as per its constitution.

4)   As a part of this exercise, it is proposed that the RWA will have a GBM of all its members on a fixed day and time every month. All important decisions shall be taken in the GBM by the residents. RWA shall be responsible for subsequently implementing those decisions.

5)   The accounts of RWA shall be transparent and available for public inspection. They shall be annually audited and presented to the GBM. There shall be social audit of accounts at regular intervals...........

Kejriwal said the AAP stand was that there should be no scope for any external interference, including that of the MP or MLA, in the works that recognised RWAs can do with public consultation in their respective areas......................

Once you won the elections with an absolute majority, we had high hopes, but not yet heard anything about those big promises made by you. Therefore, now, before the MCD elections, we would like to ask as below :

1. What happened to the RWA Act, giving a legal sanctity to the RWAs by passing it in the state assembly ?

2. What happened to your promises of Empowerment of RWAs ?

3. Instead of streamlining the functioning of RWAs, why your party started neglecting the RWAs and tilted towards the Mohalla Sabha ?

Looking forward for your valued response, with a hope, that you will not force us to believe, that you had made the fake promises with us.

With Best regards,

B S Vohra

President,

East Delhi RWAs Joint Front ( Federation )

www.RWABhagidari.com

www.RWABhagidari.blogspot.in

CC to MEDIA

'TERI' meet on segregation of Solid Waste in Delhi !

RWAs Vs Mohalla Sabha !

We the Ashok Vihar D blk Rwa agree that RWA are serving their areas non politically since long. In case Aap govt aim is only service of people RWA is the best forum.      

Suresh Gupta 
Gen Sec

Delhi RWAs Feed on Vote-Hungry Political Parties : Economic Times

Ahead of elections, politicos woo RWAs to reach out to middle-class voters

MANSI TEWARI & RAVI TEJA SHARMA 
NEW DELHI 

Resident welfare associations (RWAs) seem to have emerged as the flavour of this pre-election season in the Capital, with political parties across the spectrum wooing what they consider their ticket to the crucial middle-class backing in the upcoming assembly polls. 

Unlike in the past, when politicians used to peddle their promises mainly in the jhuggijhopri clusters or teeming slums, this time they appear to be focusing as much on the notoriously reluctant voters in the middle-class and uppermiddle-class localities through the local RWAs. So while Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced in June a sum of 1 lakh for urgent works per RWA, her rival, BJP’s state president Vijay Goel has been organising meetings with these associations across the city. Even the new entrant, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), appears keen to reach out to voters through RWAs. “This is where we get our political intelligence from,” says Goel, referring to RWAs. “They are our route to tell people about our alternative governance model.”

Tapping voters through RWAs is even more important for Opposition parties because they cannot offer largesse like the ruling party, says a BJP leader who does not wish to be named. Congress MLA Ramakant Goswami, who represents the Rajendra Nagar constituency, says RWAs are a great way to reach out to middle-class voters. “RWAs are just like village panchayats. They help bring out the voters...We want them to vote. They are the ones who get the most benefit out of development but very few come out to vote,” said Goswami. 

Dikshit had also announced that deputy commissioners in different districts of the city would have at their disposal Rs 5 crore each, which would be spent on the basis of priorities decided by RWAs. 

The chief minister’s move to offer money to RWAs just before the elections is an unfair inducement not unlike the freebies politicians used to distribute among slum-dwellers earlier, alleges the head of an RWA, reasoning that anybody can form such an association with seven members just to avail of the money. 

The new found interest among political parties, however, brings some relief to a large number of colonies in the city. 

“This is for the first time that I have seen both Congress and BJP trying to do something for the middle class ahead of the assembly elections, be it repairing of roads or addressing water and sewage issues,” says Vivek Tandon, a senior member of the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association who has been living in the south Delhi colony since the 1970s. 

Tandon says while Congress MLA Barkha Shukla Singh in June inaugurated the re-carpeting of a road in Vasant Vihar that falls in RK Puram constituency, BJP councillor Radhey Shyam Sharma inaugurated an internal road in the colony. 

AAP’s Shazia Ilmi, who is planning to contest from RK Puram, rues that RWAs are also polarised along political lines. “The RWA members become beholden to power. There’s a strong pro-BJP or pro-Congress slant and political patronage,” says Ilmi, a member of AAP’s national executive, adding that often RWAs do not allow her party’s volunteers to campaign in the colonies. 

Over time, multiple RWAs have come up in various localities, often with clashing political leanings. In 2008, ahead of the assembly elections, members of the United Residents’ Joint Action, an RWA collective, had joined BJP. 

“Political parties know that by wooing RWAs before the elections, they can hope to convert the middle class into a probable vote bank,” says BS Vohra, president of the East Delhi RWAs’ joint front, federation. 

R Ganesh Aiyar, president, Defence Colony RWA says policies continue to be framed without the involvement of all stakeholders. “The problem is that they do not consult RWAs. For everything, we have to seek the help of the MLA or MLC.”

"The problem is that they do not consult RWAs. For everything, we have to seek the help of the MLA or MLC." Aiyar's RWA recently managed to get a court to stay a new underground parking that was being constructed in the colony at the cost of 50 trees. 

Several other RWAs have been just as active, much to the chagrin of developers and local politicians who facilitate such projects. Although the Delhi government had set up the Bhagidari system in 2000 to institutionalise the process of engaging with RWAs and taking their opinion on board for formulation of policies, analysts say Dikshit's announcement shows the mechanism has not evolved to the extent desired. 

"We are fed up with these political parties," says Amit Aggarwal, executive member of the Vasant Kunj RWA. "They have created factions among RWAs, which end up fighting among each other. They lure us, give us funds in the election year and then forget about us for the next four years. But now, we are more careful." While such words may sound like music to Ilmi's ears, Aggarwal might have just given Congress and BJP reason to work even harder at connecting with RWAs.

with thanks : ECONOMIC TIMES : LINK : for detailed report.