Meet Dr (Prof) Sneha Palnitkar, Director All India Institute of Local Self Government (AIILSG) who has been at the helm of affairs of the institute for the last 22 years. As the head of the autonomous body which she joined in 1983, she runs programs to train new corporators. Some have gone on to becoming MLAs, MPs, ministers, even a chief minister. With the civic elections almost upon us, Prashant Hamine meets her to find out what her thoughts are on processes and the voters
SHE did her double masters in Urban Studies and Industrial Relations and a second masters in Regional Planning from the Institute of Social Studies at the Hague. She did her PhD. in Solid Waste Management and later did a fellowship at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Dr Sneha Palnitkar was also part of the UN Habitat research group on urban management and sustainable development. She was the founder member of the Commonwealth Local Self Government Forum and has travelled to 44 countries.
Set up in 1926, our All India Institute of Local Self Government happens to be the oldest autonomous body of its kind in the country. It was set up by the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Dadasaheb Mavlankar. Many illustrious politicians like S.K. Patil and B.G. Kher have been presidents of the institute.
Today people, especially the educated voters, are apathetic when it comes to voting in civic elections. Comment.
Regrettably today in major cities the educated people very rarely vote in civic elections. We have been blessed with this prestigious right of right to vote. We have got it very easily. In other countries people had to struggle for it. Most of the educated lot do not vote and later on grumble that our representative does not do this or that. If we want good quality civic services, better living conditions then you should not grumble if you do not vote in civic elections. Voting in civic elections should be made compulsory. It can be challenged. But all should be made to vote. Vote for anybody. But you cannot grumble later on, if you do not vote.
Could it be because the civic administration is so mired in corruption that it puts people off?
At times people may be put off because of the way the civic administration functions. But mind you, if even for a day the entire civic staff were given a holiday and let ordinary citizens handle civic services like water supply or garbage clearing, it will result in utter chaos. People also need to change their attitude and outlook towards the civic body. What we need to think is how we can as citizens contribute towards improving our own neighbourhood.
You see it is very easy for people to criticize civic bodies like BMC. It is the only civic body in the country that not only gives you services like birth and death certificates, water supply, garbage clearing, sanitation, health care, but also provides Medical Education. It is ultimately the civic body that directly touches the lives of the ordinary citizen. And remember, it c aters to more than 1 crore people, not a mere lakh like other civic bodies. When you compare BMC with other municipal corporations, you must understand that BMC caters to a crore-plus population whereas others cater to a lakh of population.
In Mumbai, the Advanced Locality Management (ALMs) in some areas have not been that successful. Now new concepts like Citizens Initiatives like Mumbai 227, Mumbai Nagrik, Goregaon Nagrik, Karmayog and others are emerging. How do you look at this new trend?
Citizens bodies, pressure groups or citizens initiatives need to be institutionalized. Now the Nagar Raj bill talks about decentralizing civic administration and powers right up to the Area Sabha. The state government has already given constitutional status to the ALMs. Earlier it was called Prerna. When Ratnakar Gaikwad was the additional municipal commissioner in BMC, we used to hold informal meetings with citizens groups to resolve contentious civic issues.
But the corporators of today treat ALMs as a parallel authority, a challenge to their status. What do you have to say about it?
The concept of ALMs should be looked at proactively. Our corporators must realize that these ALMs are not their competitors, but their facilitators. In UK the elected representatives themselves cultivate such groups as it helps them in ensuring all round development in their constituencies. Actually it is a win-win situation for both the elected representatives as well as the citizens as both are benefited. The civic body should also make budgetary provisions for ALMs. Even a small lane can have its own ALM. In bigger areas you can have Mohalla Committees doing the job.
What has your Institute been doing in training some of the corporators who get elected for the first time and do not know the functioning of the civic body?
We bring seasoned politicians who have nurtured their political careers right from the grass root civic bodies to teach the corporators. Here they narrate their experiences as corporators, leaving aside their political ideologies and give tips on how to be effective. When civic budgets are being today debated in crores of rupees, policy decision makers too need to be trained properly.
Once you become a corporator, your priority should be the overall development of the city. Even our present president, Dr Jatin Modi, has been a former Mayor of Baroda. So has been our current director general, Ranjit Chavan.
As elections to 10 major municipal corporations are due to be held early next year. What message do you have for the voters?
If you expect quality service and better infrastructure, then we should also get involved in participatory governance. If you want to solve your civic problems, get better services, good quality of life and other aspects, people should come forward and get involved in local civic matters.
The government has now raised the reservation quota for women in civic bodies to 50 per cent.
Today the face of the civic bodies is changing. You have elected representatives right from the Kitchen to the Technocrats. You have housewives as corporators as well as architects, doctors, engineers and other professionals. Be it health, sanitation, water and other issues they are all closely related to women.
It was a proud moment for me when I got a chance to present the paper on Women in Local Self Government Bodies at the UN summit in 1996. By then we already had 33 percent reservation for women in civic bodies. When I told the gathering of representatives from 13 nations that it was constitutionally mandated provision in India, they were awe struck. Because in most of their countries at best they had just 2 percent reservation for women in local self government bodies.
The institute is already actively cooperating with the Pune Municipal Corporation in achieving Gender Equality. Today the civic bodies have changed a lot. World over they are now talking about newer concepts like Gender Friendly cities, Children friendly cities or Environment friendly cities. Civic bodies like PMC have had the advantage that they had municipal commissioner’s who had a progressive outlook.
Today there are some people who draw comparisons between BMC mayor and the New York mayor and criticize their role when it comes to incidents like 26/11?
You cannot draw comparison with what New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani did during 9/11 and what our Mayor did during 26/11. Our mayors are merely ceremonial. You need to empower them to an extent with some checks and balances in place. The All India Mayors Council had, in the recent conference held at Lucknow, written to the Prime Minister about granting certain powers to the mayor. The Mayor-in-Council that was introduced by the Shivsena-BJP government way back in 1995-99 could be revived with some checks and balances. Noted urban planning expert Isher Judge Ahluwalia too has advocated a similar concept.
The MNS has held a entrance test for candidates aspiring to seek its party ticket for the ensuing corporation elections. Is it the right way?
The idea of holding entrance test or some sort of screening test is not bad at all. It does give an entry point to those who otherwise cannot get a chance. There are institutes like ours who do training courses for corporators. If you have entrance tests for professional courses, then why not for politics which is in a way a profession. Now where do you do not find politics, though we may not take active part in real politics, we still indulge in some office politics, don’t we?