Friends
Mr. T.S. Sudhir, a
senior journalist of print and electronic media interviewed Dr. Mazher Hussain,
Executive Director of COVA about the recent Direction of the High Court of
Andhra Pradesh in a Writ Petition filed by COVA and its implications for the implementation of
73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India and securing peoples
participation in governance from grassroots,
The Interview titled
Court Order Proves COVA's Point is appended below:
COVA Team
Court order proves COVA’s point
T.S.Sudhir
Hyderabad
On
10 December, the Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered the Greater Hyderabad
Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to activate Area Sabhas and Ward Committees in the
city and ensure they hold regular meetings.
For the first time in India, proper implementation of the 73rd
and 74th Amendments to the Constitution that takes governance to the
grassroots is being sought.
The
Andhra Pradesh government had issued a landmark order directing the formation
of Area Sabhas and Ward Committees in February 2010 to enable citizens’
participation in civic affairs. Ward
Committees also had budgetary allocations enabling them to carry out
development works without having to depend on the local elected
representatives.
However,
Ward Committees and Area Sabhas have not met regularly and are practically
defunct. It was the Confederation of
Voluntary Organisations (COVA) that approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
COVA
is a national network of 500 voluntary organisations focusing on issues of
social harmony, peace and justice.
T.S.Sudhir spoke to Mazher Hussain, Executive Director of COVA, on the
significance of the order for people’s participation in governance.
What difference will the High Court’s order
make to our lives?
The
judgment will enable better participation of the common people in matters of
governance at the grassroots. The 73rd
and 74th amendments to the Constitution envisage the involvement of
ordinary citizens in decision-making, especially in civic issues and welfare
programmes. But politicians and
bureaucrats monopolise these decisions and the common man has to beg and
plead. This landmark judgment will
transform the grammar of governance if it is used well by civil society.
But there is very little awareness about
Ward Committees and Area Sabhas. How do
you overcome that?
In
our writ petition, we have said that the meetings of the Area Sabhas and Ward
Committees should be held regularly and according to the norms stipulated. The newspapers should mention them in the
engagements columns but as everyone does not read newspapers, mobile publicity
as in posters on the back of autorickshaws should be used.
Do you think politicians have a vested
interest in keeping the aam admi out?
Let
us take the example of say a gas connection or old age pensions. It should be decided at the level of the area
sabha, not by the MLA or corporator of the area. But it does not work that way. Then, there is also the middleman syndrome
where minor political functionaries do the wheeling and dealing. They are usually flunkies of politicians so
that the leaders do not get their hands dirty.
A study on the common minimum programme of the Andhra Pradesh Government
conducted by research scholars of the University of Hyderabad found widespread
unhappiness over the role played by middlemen.
It is the people who should decide who should get what.
Do you think citizens also don’t like to
get involved? May be the attitude is that my work should get done and I do not
care about the rest.
Yes,
public social responsibility is at a premium.
It is what I call the ‘mein, meri
jeb, mera baccha’ attitude (Me, my purse, my child). What we have to instill is a spirit of
selective assertion on specific subjects.
This won’t be a mass uprising or a revolution but if people can stress
their demands effectively, the purpose would be served.
Will the politician get marginalised if the
Area Sabhas or Ward Committees get more powers?
A
change is needed in the political culture of our country. At present, there is no political
competition. Once a person wins the
election, the other candidates fall off the radar. The winner has a monopoly even if he has won
the election by a few hundred votes while the others are squeezed out. What the High Court judgment will do it to
encourage the Opposition parties to get the people to voice their
demands because it will also help them in the next election. Conflict is the essence of a functioning
democracy while violence is not. If we
do not stand up for conflict, we will open the doors of oppression.
What are the lessons for other states in
India from what has taken place in Andhra Pradesh?
Since
Andhra Pradesh issued its order in February 2010. Many other states also have issued similar
government orders. But most of them have
been on paper and are very diluted versions of the Andhra order. In Gujarat, for instance, very few powers
have been given to the Area Sabhas.
Civil society can play a big role.
In Hyderabad, we have formed groups of 15 to 20 concerned citizens in
each locality who walk around the area and identify problems that can be
discussed at the meetings. That is an
effective way of identifying and solving problems.
