NEW DELHI: Delhiites will have a say in the development of their neighbourhoods. To fulfil its manifesto promise of Swaraj (self-rule), the AAP government is making citizens participants in governance. They will meet and decide what civic projects should be taken up in their locality.
For now, it is an experiment limited to 11 of Delhi's 70 assembly constituencies, and only voters registered at the polling centres where meetings will be held can participate. This pilot project will formalize the place of 'participatory budgeting' in the new government's planning process.
On Sunday, the first round of meetings will be held in Patparganj, the constituency of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The process will be followed in the other 10 constituencies over a month so that their development priorities are finalized by mid-May and placed before the state assembly in June when it meets to discuss the city's budget for 2015-16.
To ensure participation by people, invitation slips will be sent to all voters registered at a polling centre at least a week before the meeting, followed by a reminder two days in advance. Voters can also give their phone numbers to get updates.
In its manifesto, AAP had promised to introduce a Citizen Fund that would be spent at the discretion of the people. For now, the government has proposed to allocate Rs 20 crore per constituency under the pilot programme and this fund is likely to be formalized as Citizen Local Area Development Fund when the budget is presented in June. Projects recommended by people will also be placed in the assembly as part of the utilization plan for the fund.
Engaging with people on the basis of voter lists will ensure that only local people participate in the discussions. And since polling stations are mostly based inside schools, the meetings will have to be held over weekends.
District magistrates will be the nodal officers under this programme, and each district's authorities will ensure that projects don't get stuck because of a multiplicity of departments.
The chief minister's constituency does not figure in the pilot project, possibly to avoid allegations of favouritism. Also, the initial mix of constituencies is representative of the city, including planned colonies, group housing societies, unauthorized colonies, resettlements, urban and rural villages, and even slums.
During meetings, people's views will be recorded in three categories: public grievances and suggestions, demands for minor development works that can be resolved by deputy commissioners, and works that require considerable expenditure. Voting will be required for the third category of demands. The government has not set any quorum (minimum attendance) for the voting. People may vote for all projects that are listed. At the end of the meeting, the works will be listed in the order of votes polled.
Within a week after each meeting, officials will be expected to prepare estimates for the projects and allocate money out of the Rs 20-crore fund for an entire assembly constituency. If the money is not sufficient for all the projects people want implemented, the most important ones will be taken up first.
Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry earlier this month, CM Arvind Kejriwal had said, "We are embarking on the road to decentralization of decision-making." He further said the budgetary exercise would be opened to the general public for suggestions. "We are going to ask the people to come up with ideas for the budget. People who come up with good ideas will be allowed to give a presentation on designated dates in May."
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