Resident Welfare Associations not okay with Swaraj Bill, to protest today

NEW DELHI: Resident Welfare Associations across the city have decided to oppose the Swaraj Bill cleared by the cabinet on Thursday. RWAs say giving administrative and financial rights to mohalla sabhas will lead to corruption. They will stage a protest against the government's decision at Jantar Mantar on Friday.

For long, RWAs have been demanding active participation in governance. But they strongly oppose the idea of giving power to mohalla sabhas, which will have members of RWAs. "RWAs can be watchdogs. RWAs should be consulted before planning development in their areas. But allowing mohalla sabhas to take administrative and financial decisions will make the sabha a cesspool of corruption," said Chetan Sharma, chairman of Federation of GK-II complex RWA.

A few years ago, the Congress-led government had come up with a similar proposal under which approval of RWAs was mandatory to do work. But RWAs had turned down the proposal. "We don't want RWAs to get any power. The government should consult RWAs. Moreover, there is no need to create a parallel system when there are 3,700 registered RWAs in the city. Also, the needs of planned residential colonies are different from villages and unauthorized colonies. How will mohalla sabha address these issues," said Pankaj Aggarwal, president of Safdarjung Development Area.

More than 100 RWAs have come together to stage a protest against government's decision. "We don't want politicization of RWAs. We want active participation in planning and prioritizing development work. RWAs can check whether the work is executed properly and completed on time. But the power to take action against people or unauthorized construction etc, should be with the government officials," said Amil Aggarwal, member of Vasant Kunj RWA and URJA, a group of RWAs.

Most people are questioning the urgency shown by the AAP government in clearing the Swaraj Bill. RWAs are wondering why the government is not interested in discussing the bill "which empowers the residents of Delhi" with the residents. "What is the hurry? If it (Swaraj Bill) is for us, then it should be put in the public domain for discussion. How can they decide what people of this city want without consulting them? Moreover, they should first work on the existing system, improve delivery of services and then introduce a new concept," said Rajiv Kakria, president of GK-1 RWA.