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 A resident welfare association (RWA) is essentially a group housing system in a layout spread over an area or built into floors of apartments in a building. Whether the houses are laid vertically or horizontally, these neighbourhood communities are registered under cooperative laws or as civil associations. RWAs are typically registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. They are entirely self-financed and self-managed. RWAs are the finest expression of civil society consensus, an answer to urban problems, a tool for community building and for self-management and direct democracy. An urban resident is endowed with intensive communication skills, fast transport, and uninhibited relations with other human beings. They can play a
vital role in building up a knowledge-based society.
Unfortunately, the urban residents are under-represented in all the three tiers of governance, namely the central, state, and local. The RWAs should therefore form a fourth tier of grass-root, self-governing micro-urban communities with participatory functions (Source: Rao VB J Chelikani, www.tarnakatimes.com, 2018). An initiative was however taken in this direction in 1998, by the state government of Delhi by introducing a system called the Bhagidari System. The objective was to promote citizen–government partnership and to create reater transparency and accountability in administration’ in order to improve ‘the quality, efficiency and delivery of public services’. In fact, the Bhagidari system has won the 2005 UN Public Service Award.
Formation of RWAs
One encouraging trend in all the major Indian cities since the 1990s is the formation of RWAs. The Municipal Corporations, the Election Commission of India, and other constitutional bodies have also started recognizing the RWAs as partners for fair and equitable delivery of services to the public without political and partisan considerations. Active RWAs now exist in almost all the major cities of the country.
In fact some of the states have state level Federation of RWAs like the United Federation of RWAs (UFERWAS), Hyderabad, Telangana; Flat Owners and RWA Federation, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh; Federation of Noida RWAs (FONRWA), Noida; United Bangalore and Bangalore Apartments Federation, Karnataka; CoRWA-Kerala; Andhra Pradesh Federation of RWAs (APFERWAS), Visakhapatnam, and so on. There are several such related organizations in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and other states.
URJA, the apex body of RWA in Delhi, was set up in 2005 and gathers, analyses, disseminates information and aggregates public opinion to demand efficient delivery of civic amenities, health services, security, clean air and water to residents of Delhi through an accountable, efficient and responsive government. URJA connects and networks with 2,500 RWAs apart from several significant NGOs. URJA is the largest civil society initiative in Delhi as it both cooperates with and challenges government on public policy that has a direct bearing on the delivery of services and justice to the citizens of Delhi.
The Confederation of RWAs (CoRWA), founded in 2012 at Hyderabad, is the Apex National Body of RWAs in India. Its organizational structure includes not only members from the Federations of RWAs mentioned above but also from other related and reputed organizations, such as Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association (MSWA); Action for Good Governance & Networking in India (AGNI), Mumbai; Federation of Chennai United Societal Services (FOCUSS), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and so on.
Expertise Developed
During the last 7 years, CoRWA made significant efforts in transforming RWAs into a policy making body in major civic issues. In the process it has also developed expertise in dealing with the major urban issues, such as Swachh Bharat—pollution control and mitigation; solid waste management; organizational and financial matters; RTI and related issues; sanitation; environmental sustainability—role of RWAs; legal issues related to RWA activity; health care, and so on.
National Conference of RWAs (NCRWAs)
Every year, CoRWA organizes National Conference of RWAs (NCRWAs) at different cities, coinciding with the National RWA Day which falls on November 23. From the first NCRWA-2012 held in Hyderabad in November 2012 to the recent 6th NCRWA held in November 2018, CoRWA made its impact felt in almost all the major cities of the country and is successfully bringing together all like-minded people to a common platform every year to discuss and deliberate on several issues of civic life.
6th NCRWA in Hyderabad
The 6th NCRWA organized by the United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (U-FERWAS), Hyderabad, and CoRWA, the apex body of RWAs India, with ‘Role of RWAs in Swachh Bharat’, as the umbrella theme, was attended by over 150 RWAs from at least eight states apart from civic authorities.
The issues covered at the 6th NCRWA include:
Swachh Bharat and role of RWAs
Solid waste management, waste segregation, and composting technologies
Air and water pollution
Encroachment-free footpaths
Ban on one-time use of disposable plastics
Urban housing and real estate Regulation Act (RERA) implementation
Urban living, transportation, and challenges
Constitutional recognition and powers to RWAs.
Deliberations
Participating in the two-day conference, leading experts and civic representatives stressed on the need for a greater role and representation for local people’s institutions such as RWAs, in local self-governance and decision-making for managing infrastructure better.
Towards this they have demanded a Constitutional amendment to include RWAs in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution to enable them to receive central and state funds and ensure greater role for RWAs in decision-making in government programmes and projects. A draft RWA manifesto was prepared at the end of the Conference (Source: Col. T P Tyagi, Vir Chakra, www.tarnakatimes.com, 2018). Some of the important points that figured in the RWA manifesto prepared at the Conference include:
- Constitutional recognition to RWAs.
- Effective implementation of the Vendor Protection Act and formation of Vendor Committee.
- Mandatory Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) for road repairs in all municipal areas.
- E-waste collection centres in all areas.
- To execute the MN Dastur Garland Canal Plan in one go or phases to interlink the rivers.
RWA Charter
The General Body of CoRWA has also resolved to declare November 23 as the National RWA Day and to observe the day every year to recognize and reward best performing RWA representatives and spread the RWA movement further (Source: Rao VB J Chelikani, www.tarnakatimes.com, 2018). A 20-point RWA Charter was prepared with a request to all RWAs to follow it up in their colonies. Here, we present some of the points of this Charter.
- In each RWA General Body meeting, there should be an item in the agenda to review the good practices adopted on clean habits, personal hygiene, greenery within the house or outside and environmental sanitation.
- Every resident should commit to devote two hours in a week to attend to environmental cleanliness—individually or collectively .
- Appeal to all residents to cultivate the habit of not throwing anything on the floor but only in the dustbin, not to spit, not to stock unnecessary old things, and so on.
- Weekly visit by the RWA office-bearers to the buildings, offices, shops, schools, hospitals, religious places, bus stops, cinema halls, function halls, parking areas, parks, vacant sites or lands, tank-bunds or river bodies in the area in and around the RWA in order to remove plastic, electronic waste, construction debris, and other unnecessary materials lying there; and to see that those agencies which are in charge, are able to discharge their duties thoroughly .
- Negotiate with the local private sector undertakings to take up some sponsored activities, such as, providing dustbins, picking, removing and cleaning tools, detergents, dresses, gloves, shoes, etc., including providing new long brooms that are safe for the lungs and the backbone of the sweeper.
- Sensitize, particularly, the low-income areas or slums who are the first victims of pollution to keep their area clean and green.
- Weekly visit to the open or closed sewerage channels or pipes and the rain or stormwater draining canals, so as to alert the municipal staff in case of obstacles to their free flow.
- Explore the sources of seasonal waves of mosquitoes and plan clearing of weeds or plastic materials from the nearby stagnant waters.
- Ensure that the tankers or the pipes carrying the drinking water and the sewerage do not have leakages; periodical testing of the quality of the drinking water at the receiving end.
- Identifying dry places for placing the dry and wet dustbins, and if necessary some transit dumping yards, and arrange for their collection, lifting, and maintenance on payment.
- Setting up and maintaining regularly, rainwater harvesting pits and
recycling arrangements.
- While managing the urban waste, a part of the garbage to be retained within the house, part of it in common pits within the area, part of it to the rag-pickers and the rest to be shifted to the municipal vehicles; and to ensure hygienic dustbins, lifting, and transportation.
- Promoting more knowledge about the harmful effects of chemicals that are being used for various purposes and reduce their wastage.
- Each resident to ensure that in his or her native village, there are private and public toilets in order to avoid open defecation.
The Way Forward
Having established a streamlined organizational structure and work plan, operating mainly from its Headquarters at Hyderabad, CoRWA now envisages expansion of its activities on a zonal basis covering almost all the states of the country. The ultimate objective is to link the RWA Mission from state to city to even Gram Panchayat level. Some models are being prepared to this effect. Significantly, CoRWA feels that RWAs should form the fourth tier of local self-government in line with the central, state, and local bodies because unfortunately, the urban residents are under-represented in all the three tiers of governance.#
Dr K S R Murthy is the Retired Deputy Director and CSIR Emeritus Scientist of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Regional office, Visakhapatnam. He is an Expert Member of CFO and CEPI of AP Pollution Control Board. Presently, he is the Secretary General of CoRWA, New Delhi, Vice-President of APFERWAS, Visakhapatnam, and President of JR Nagar RWA, Visakhapatnam. Email: corwa2013@gmail.com
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