An institutional platform for citizenship democracy in every city. It acts as a bridge between municipality and citizens

INTRODUCTION 

A ward committee is an institutional platform for citizen participation in every city. It acts as a bridge between the municipality (the lowest form of governance) and the citizens, with the responsibility to report issues, monitor progress, make plans and participate in budgets. 

As an infant step, on 1st June 1993, the 74th Constitutional Amendment or Nagarapalika Act was introduced to give “power to the people” in urban governance. Accordingly, Article 243S of the Constitution mandates the constitution of wards committee, in a Municipality having a population of three lakhs or more.  

The Municipal Law provides for constitution of a Wards Committee for contiguous groups of wards under clause 30 and constitution of a Ward Committee for each Ward, under clause 31. However, these clauses define the constitution of the Committees in a different manner.  

A “Ward Committee” which would be chaired by the elected representative from the particular ward, may have representatives of the civil society as its members, whereas in a “Wards Committee”, only the elected representatives would be the members and would elect a Chairperson from among themselves. Thus, while each Ward Committee would have an advisory role only, the Wards Committees may exercise executive powers for the local level functions as specified in sub-clause (6) of clause 30. 

WARD COMMITTEE: STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION

The councillor of the respective wards will be the chairperson of the ward committee. Other members are to be nominated with representation for women, SC/ST, RWAs etc. All the members need to be registered voters of that ward. The ward committee should represent majority of residents, or civic groups, or commercial groups or industrial groups. Ward Committee Secretary has to provide administrative assistance. Ward Secretary would be the Assistant Revenue Officer or a designated official in that ward.  

The number of elected and nominated members in the Ward Committees differs considerably from State to State. The method of nomination also differs. In Karnataka for instance, there are 10 members in total.  

• Women (3 members),  
• SC/ST (2 members),  
• RWAs (2 members)  
• General (3 members) 

Term of the ward committee is co-terminus with that of the Council. The respective state legislations decide the details on composition, frequency of meetings, functions and powers of the ward committees.  

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE WARD COMMITTEE  

The functioning of the wards are to be fully transparent. Quarterly financial reports are to be displayed on the board of the ward office. It is the onus on the Ward Committee to disclose their physical and financial reports, targets, and corresponding achievements. For other information that’s not been disclosed, the citizens can access it through the Right to Information Act, 2005. 

FUNCTIONS OF THE WARD COMMITTEE  

The main functions of the committee include,  

• Make ward development plans and seek funds.
• Ensure that there is proper utilization of the funds allotted.
• Supervise all public works, all programs and schemes that’s being implemented by the Corporation in the ward.
• Ensure timely collection of taxes, fees and other sums that are due to the Corporation. 
• Approve the list of beneficiaries for beneficiary-oriented schemes of the Corporation.
• Mobilize voluntary labor and donation by way of goods or money for implementation of Ward Development Plan and various programs and schemes of Corporation. 
• Inform the Corporation regarding any encroachment of land belonging to the Corporation. 
• Ensure water supply maintenance in the ward and finalize location of new public taps and public wells; ensure sewerage maintenance and proper solid waste management and sanitation work in the ward and finalize the location of the new public sanitation units; Ensure maintenance of street lighting in the ward and finalize location of new street lights, maintenance of parks, open spaces, greening of area in the ward, ensure afforestation and implementation of rain water harvesting schemes.

The corporation of the respective cities, should ensure that the ward committees are equipped with appropriate information regarding the Standing Committee Decisions, Resolutions of the Council, Budgets sanctioned to the Wards, Ward maps, details about the corporation properties and details of the Revenue streams.  

WARD COMMITTEE MEETINGS 

The discretion lies with the respective State Governments on the number of meetings to be conducted in a month. In few States, Ward Committee Meetings are to be conducted once or twice in a month. The Chairperson sends an official notice regarding the Ward Committee Meetings to its members. The circular to be circulated in their respective offices and ward WhatsApp groups. The meeting agenda is outlined by the Secretary of the wards and the agenda must be shared with the ward members.  

The meeting will be held at the ward office or at a commonplace in the ward. The Chairperson needs to address the gathering. It is the responsibility of the Secretary to read out the agenda of the previous meetings as well as read out the list of ward level works that’s been completed, or in progress or will be planned in the upcoming meetings.  

The citizens and the members can table their problems to the Chairman and discuss it with the concerned engineer or officer-in-charge in the ward. It is the onus of the Ward level officers to address and resolve these issues within a timeframe.  

The Ward Committee meetings’ proceedings should be entered in a Minute Book. The Minute Book contains the following details –  

• Names of the members who are present in the meetings.
• The agenda and the decision of the Ward Committee in respect of each item of Business.
• The date of the meeting and the time of commencement and closing of the meeting.
• The business transacted.

The Chairperson needs to sign this minute book after the end of each meeting. The meetings’ proceedings need to be written by the ARO or an officer designated by the Corporation. This should be placed in the upcoming meeting for confirmation.  

The proceedings or the Minutes of Meetings need to be accessible by the public, and this has to be done by publishing it on the city corporations’ official website. For instance, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) publishes its proceedings and meeting notices on its official website.  

HOW TO CONDUCT WARD COMMITTEE MEETINGS  

The conduct of the ward committee meetings, include the chairperson fixing a specific date for meeting (unless specified by law). The onus is on the Ward Committee members to give suggestions on agenda one week prior to the meeting. It is to be noted that all meetings should be open to the public. Any citizen can approach the chairperson or any other member for addressing her / his concerns. If no action is taken, citizen can complain to the Commissioner. Quorum for holding the meeting is typically, one-third of the total members in the committee. Minutes of the meeting usually called as proceedings should be recorded, can be video-graphed, and should be uploaded on the public domain. For instance, we have BBMP website for uploading the proceedings of the ward committee meetings that happen in Bengaluru wards. The decisions of the ward committees are normally taken based on consensus / majority. In some cases, the Chairperson may exercise a ‘veto’ over any decision, by giving reasons in writing.  

WARD FINANCES  

The distribution of the taxes between the state and the Municipality is decided by the State Finance Commission. The authority to sanction estimates lies with the wards and plans for Municipal works within a Zone costing upto rupees one crore subject to the corporation sanctioning it in the budget. However, there is no obligation on the Corporation to allocate funds to the Ward Committee.  

Bengaluru, Kochi, Delhi, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Pune, West Bengal are the cities that have effective Ward committees.