Saturday, April 15, 2017

Give us solutions to sanitation, parking woes, RWAs tell parties - The Hindu


Door-to-door garbage collection, dhalaos are main concerns

Days ahead of the civic polls on April 23, residents’ groups have asked political parties to come up with solutions for Delhi’s biggest problems — sanitation, illegal parking, encroachment and the blame game agencies play.

15 issues highlighted

The East Delhi Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) Joint Front wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken on Friday, asking them to come up with solutions in their manifestos to the 15 problems that have been highlighted.
According to the RWAs, door-to-door garbage collection and open dhalaos in residential areas are among the main concerns for residents. “We don’t want just promises. We want to know how each party plans to solve our problems. We all know what the problems are in the Capital,” said B.S. Vohra, president of the East Delhi RWAs Federation.
In an email sent to the leaders, the RWAs have also asked for better coordination between the municipal corporations and different departments of the Delhi government. Many problems, like water-logging of roads during the monsoon, can be solved if the agencies work together, said Mr. Vohra.
“Every year, we hear the same excuses. The municipal corporations blame the Public Works Department or the Delhi Jal Board, who in turn accuse the corporations of not cleaning drains. We don’t want any blame game,” he added.

‘Address funds dispute’

Another problem that hit east Delhi was the multiple strikes by sanitation workers in the past two years. Faced with a financial crisis, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) was unable to pay workers on time, triggering strikes and allowing garbage to collect on the streets. The RWAs have demanded that the parties address the dispute over funds between the EDMC and the Delhi government.
with thanks : The Hindu : LINK

RWAs release public manifesto - Times of India

Apr 15 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)
E DELHI WISHES - 
RWAs release 
public manifesto
New Delhi:


RWAs have come out with their own manifesto and have written to all the three prime political parties ­ BJP , Congress and AAP -to highlight their issues in the parties' manifestos. The manifesto has a list of 15 issues pertaining to the residents and highlights issues of the capital.B S Vohra, RWA president of East Delhi Joint Front, said that while all three political parties are busy in their blame game, it is important to shift their focus on the real issues that the residents have been suffering for many years.
“We have made a list of 15 issues and have appealed to all parties to highlight them in their manifestos. They should highlight issues that are associated directly with the public and should not have any vested interest,“ Vohra said.
In the letter, the RWAs have sought a solution and assurance from the political parties to take up the issues and put an end to them.
“The most important point that we want to highlight is that there should be coordination among different parties.It has been evident in the last two years how east Delhi has suffered when sanitation workers were not paid their salaries and instead of coming up with a solution, what followed was a blame game between BJP-led east corporation and AAP-led Delhi government,“ he said.
The public manifesto highlights issues like pollution, poor garbage collection, landfill fire, overflowing dhalaos, encroachment, parking, bad quality of roads, stray animals menace etc. Vohra pointed out that the issue of funds between civic bodies and Delhi government should be resolved and corruption in municipalities is a major cause of concern for the residents.

with thanks : Times of India : LINK

Friday, April 14, 2017

RWAs issues for MCD Election Manifesto

Subject : RWAs issues for MCD Election Manifesto :

Kind Attention :
1. Mr Arvind Kejriwal, CM, Delhi
2. Mr Manish Sisodia, Dy CM, Delhi
3. Mr Manoj Tiwari, President, Delhi BJP
4. Mr Ajay Makan, President, Delhi Congress
( via E mail, Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook )

Dear Sir,

In spite of being the residents of the National capital, Delhiites are facing so many problems, such as : Pollution, Traffic jam, Parking, Encroachment, Water logging, Sanitation, Open Dhalav, Potholes, etc.


Through this mail to the Leaders of various political parties, we seek an Assurance in their Election Manifesto, clearly stating, that how soon our problems, as below, will come to an end : 

1. Most Polluted City : It has become, one of the most polluted city of the world.
2. Smoking mountains, Landfill sites : These are contributing to the Air, Water & Soil pollution.
3. Open Dhalav’s in the inner localities : They have become a big nuisance for the residents.
4. Door to Door Garbage collection : It is the very basic need of the hour.
5. Encroachment : It can be seen in any locality with bare eyes, and adds to traffic jam & pollution.
6. Traffic Jam : It has become a common problem for every locality.
7. Illegal parking : It is also the reason of Traffic jams as well as quarrels at various locations.
8. Potholes : These are visible on every single road in the inner localities.
9. Water Logging : The city is converted into a big lake, during every downpour in Monsoon.
10. Sanitation workers strike : Five strikes in two years have truly shattered the residents.
11. Stray Animals : Stray Dogs & Monkeys can be seen in every locality.
12. Funds problem between MCD & Delhi Govt. : It has caused severe damage to the local infrastructure.
13. MCD Corruption : It is the major cause of concern for the residents.
14. Co-ordination : In the Elections at Delhi Govt & MCD levels, any party may win. We are expecting a suitable coordination amongst all those who win and the Hon’ble LG, for suitable implementation of plans for the development of the city.
15. RWA EMPOWERMENT : Last but not the least, we expect the RWA Empowerment as RWAs are the selfless workers & a real backbone of the city.

These are some of the very basic issues that require your immediate attention. We don’t think that any of the above issues require any further detailed description from our side, as all these issues are clearly visible with bare eyes, in almost every locality.

We are now looking for your upcoming manifesto, with a GREAT HOPE.

With best regards,

B S Vohra
President
East Delhi RWAs Joint Front – Federation

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Mobile Tower Radiation in East Delhi checked by East Delhi RWAs Joint Front

SC order a shot in arm for RWAs

Supreme Court order to shut down a mobile phone tower in Gwalior on a plea filed by a 42-year old domestic help has heated up the debate about the supposed harmful radiations emitted by them. The petition had claimed that radiation from the illegal tower installed on a neighbour's rooftop in 2002 had affected him adversely in the past 14 years. 

The SC order has given a shot in the arm to the campaigns of many Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Delhi who have been opposing these structures for years. 

Dr Kapil Kakkar, RWA president of Jangpura Extension, said that he has filed several complaints with the municipal corporation about installation of mobile phone towers in residential areas. Many residents have now asked him to take up the issue strongly, especially after the SC verdict. 

A guesthouse in our area has a mobile tower for the past 15 years. Residents living nearby are suffering from cancer because of it. Even the guesthouse owner and his mother are suffering from the ailment, but he is unable to remove the tower as the clauses in the agreement cannot be violated," said Kakkar.

The East Delhi RWA president, BS Vohra, took the campaign against mobile towers a step further by checking the radiation emanating from them. "But the companies reduced the frequency that day and we couldn't get a clear reading," he claimed. 

Requesting the government to act strongly, Vohra said that mobile companies "have a strong lobby and they get away despite knowing that radiation from these towers could be harmful. 

RWA president of Mayur Vihar-I Pocket-III, Om Aggarwal believes that the SC judgment will increase the sense of responsibility of telecom companies. However, East of Kailash RWA president, Wing Commander JS Chadda, believes that since many experts say the towers cause no harm, "there is no basis for us to go about protesting against their presence in our areas. 

We started a movement to remove the towers, but stopped as government reports suggested that they have no detrimental effects," Chadda said. 

Rajiv Kakria, RWA President of GK-I, has a different take. "Residential areas shouldn't put up these towers as they are aesthetically not pleasant and there's always a chance of them falling down during storms. " He has asked telecom companies to reduce sound pollution from generators by upgrading their technology. 

with thanks : TOI : LINK

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Happy Baisakhi !


Timely exposure to what effect !

Timely exposure to what effect! All parties make such announcements to get votes but once they occupy position, they forget such promises and remain silent till the next elections as they think that there is nobody, unlike you, could remember and take them to the task and expose them! In fact it is a very sad state of affairs that money and freebies lure the public at large and seek their votes!

With regards,
TK Balu

Monday, April 10, 2017

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

10th 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 Delhiformer 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,

S Vohra
President,
East Delhi RWAs Joint Front ( Federation )



CC to MEDIA