My response to the suggestion to Dy. CM Mr. Manish Sisodia, moved
by Mr. B.S. Vohra ..... pls read the folloing Link before you proceed to my
views.
Mr. B.S.Vohra has indeed
raised an interesting question. The practice of appointing Alderman has been
prevalent for many years, but this is the first time someone from the RWA
fraternity has raised it.
My first reaction was IS
IT NEEDED ????? ...... soon it dwelled upon me that the position was
created by the founding fathers of the constitution to create checks and
balances, in case public in its wisdom by a majority vote in the First Past
The Post System elects a person who may be popular in his/her community but may
not be acceptable to all or may not be qualified enough to understand
Governance Technicalities.
"An
alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council who is not elected by
popular vote. Under DMC Act, the L-G can nominate 10 eminent persons as
aldermen to the civic body. Aldermen do not have voting rights but are
nominated from among social workers or experts in different
fields. The L-G's nomination follows recommendations by the Delhi Government." The Hindu - Link
Today this post has
taken greater significance as our Elected Representatives do not any longer
THINK OF THEMSELVES AS OUR REPRESENTATIVES ...... but soon impose themselves as
our Leaders, we are ourselves to blame for that, because once elected we pamper
them with GARLANDS AND BOW to them not as one of our own but as one above us
.... OUR LEADER.
THIS LEADER in turn
becomes a BONDED LABOUR OF THE
POLITICAL PARTY he represents
as the Draconian ANTI DEFECTION LAW ties him/her to the PARTY HIGH COMMAND’S DIKTAT ...... throwing to the winds his own or his Constituents Wishes.
This process results in
Travesty of Democracy as in today’s times in the First Past the Post system a Party
with 33% vote of the average 60% voter turnout ....... effectively
rules with fewer than 20% popular vote, ends up IMPOSING ITS WILL on 80% people who may
have differing views on how to be Governed.
RWAs in the past two
decades (with all its short comings) have to a large extent managed to some
extent, place a check on the whimsical way the TRINITY OF NETA, BABU AND VESTED
INTERESTS have systematically looted the city ....... be it on education,
infrastructure, sanitation, health, security or general quality of life. BUT
FOR RWAs things could have been much worse ......... MPD 2021, Power Bills,
Playgrounds etc were all issues that the RWAs managed to keep a check on.
Working of RWAs is like a
complex network of 'Wells' that fulfil the needs of a specific area from which
they operate ..... Like the village Well caters to the specific needs of a
particular area.
The functions are very
similar of all RWAs ...... Most people involved are happy doing their small bit
in the given circumstances and have no ambitions of going beyond as they are
happy contributing in small measure to their immediate surroundings.
The various RWA joint
fronts or groups have tried to engage the 3000 odd RWAs in Delhi to a common
cause and have succeeded to some extent (like on Power Bills) ...... But more
often than not it has been noticed that most people are happy restricting
themselves to their area of operation ..... 'Their Well'.
The true strength of the
RWAs is impossible to quantify as each Well is important .... collectively they
have yet not realised their Actual Might ....... like the Village
Panchayat., Khap Panchayat, Jat Andolan, Gujjar etc.
The day all the Wells find
a way to connect ..... No Lake, River or Ocean can match their Collective Utility to serve
society.
Reason enough
that all Political Parties give lip service to RWAs but do not pass a law to
formalise RWAs and give them a Constitutional toe hold.
This is a complex issue
and needs detailed understanding ....... Many stalwarts have worked on it for
the past decade and all Political dispensations have tried to use this lose
formation to gain Political control ..... Bhagidari by Congress, RWC by BJP and
Mohalla Sabha by AAP.
Political workers have
even infiltrated RWAs and have taken control, EDGING OUT THE GENUINE SOCIAL
WORKER, who does not want to indulge in bickering. So much so RWAS HAVE BECOME THE
NURSERIES FOR BUDDING NETAS.
A few of us have
resisted such attempts as we want an Apolitical RWA setup and not an extended arm of the Political dispensations’ in
power at a given time (like various student unions), vanishing when the Party
loses office as in case of Bhagidari after Shiela Dikshit.
In conclusion, I support the idea floated by Mr. Vohra ..... though I doubt it, that the Political class will be willing to
cede their space to genuine Socially Conscious Individuals with impeccable
credentials ...... THE REASON FOR MY CYNICISM is on view in Rajya Sabha
which has become a SANCTUARY OF PUBLIC DISCARDS and the Likes of Vijay Mallya ....... defeating the very purpose for
which such Provisions were created.
Rajiv Kakria, GK -1
