Initiated in January 2000, the Delhi government’s Bhagidari programme is meant to promote broad-based civic participation in local governance. In simpler terms, to help residents deal with problems like erratic water supply, power outages, waste disposal, etc.

The aim of the scheme is to promote a meaningful alliance between government agencies and citizens. To achieve this, the government holds frequent workshops with residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) of various zones. Monthly meetings with the respective deputy commissioners (revenue) of the region are also organised.

While the scheme won the 2005 UN public service award and may sound perfect on paper, it is ridden with procedural glitches which rob the idea of its very essence – bhagidari (partnership). Governance Now attempts to look into hindrances to the working of the scheme in east Delhi, where its implementation has been the most chaotic.

East is east

According to Anil Bajpai, the president of East Delhi RWAs’ Federation, residents of the zone face many civic issues. Citing the problems of his own locality, Raghubarpura, he said, “The two biggest grievances are encroachments and unauthorised constructions. Shopkeepers encroach on roads, leaving little space for vehicles, leading to frequent traffic jams. There is also no regulation of the quality of buildings being built by any agency. This leads to the danger of buildings collapsing in congested colonies.”

Water shortage is also an acute problem. “We do not get water for hours and even when we do get, it is not always safe to drink,” Bajpai said. The sewage system is in a mess, leading to serious health problems for the residents. “The drains are permanently clogged. If it rains even for half an hour, the filth from the sewage overflow, making it unhygienic and stinky for us.”

In Old Geeta Colony, RWA president Renu Sharma said, “We get water supply between 6 am and 8 am, and in evening. But after 8 am, we often see a change in the colour of the water.”

About poor conveyance facilities for the residents, she said the “gramin seva” vehicles, which carry groups of people over short distances at Rs 5 per person, overcharge. “Three months ago, Gandhinagar sub-divisional magistrate Sandeep Gulati had said he would make an inspection and deal with this issue but nothing has been done till date,” Sharma said.

When contacted, Gulati said, “We went there and inspected the region. Action was taken against drivers of the vehicles.” When told that the problem continues, he said, “We have to deal with various other responsibilities and in the process we forget to do a follow-up. If reminded, we will go there again.”

Asked about water woes in east Delhi, Gulati said, “Under the Bhagidari scheme, all we can do is forward the complaints made by various RWAs to the East Delhi municipal corporation. It is not our fault if they (municipal authorities) do not cooperate. They are a different department.”

Endless wait

The process of getting work done under the Bhagidari system is a long-drawn one. After letters for various demands are made to an officer, they go to the flood control department, where an estimate of the expenditure is made. The process of making this estimate takes four to six months.

Asked why the process takes so long, SDM Gulati said, “Earlier, the flood control (department officials) would take longer. Now they take comparatively less time. They provide estimates within two or three months.”

Pointing out how a good idea can go awry, BS Vohra, president of East Delhi RWAs’ Joint Front, said: “Bhagidari is the best scheme implemented by the Sheila Dikshit government. It has made contact with the CM, DC, SDM and various other officers much easier. However, the scheme renders people powerless. All they can do is go to the offices and continuously write letters about their problems. In the process, there is too much delay and time is lost.”

Suggesting a way for the government to make officers and departments more accountable, Vohra said, “An action taken report (ATR) should be filed within 15 days to a month after a complaint is registered. We should know if the work is being done or not. And if there is a delay in the work, then reasons for that should be provided.”

How the system takes its own sweet time to set things right can best be elucidated by this example. If the letter to set right the messy sewage system in Raghubarpura is written in February-March, by the time the letter is approved, and an estimate is provided, it would be August or September. So when this estimate is then given to various contractors and work begins, the monsoon season is already over. By then, the filth is out of the drain and on the streets and everywhere else.

Another problem faced by the flood control department is not being able to find contractors to carry out works, SDM Gulati said. “Sometimes they are unwilling to do small works, or they feel the government is not very reliable. They fear if the office is transferred, they will not get their money.” Asked if such instances had occurred in the past, he said, “Not that I know of.”

No meetings in 3 months

Yog Prakash Sharma, a core committee member of Bhagidari scheme and president of Kantinagar RWA, said: “Ever since the new deputy commissioner, Krishna Mohan Uppu, has been appointed, no monthly meeting of the RWAs has been held. It’s been three months and we are waiting for a meeting to take place.”

To this, DC (East) Uppu said, “I have already held a meeting where there was an election of the core committee for Bhagidari scheme for this year. It has been three months since I have been appointed in this office. The meetings will commence soon.”

President of East Delhi RWAs’ Federation Anil Bajpai said, “Mr Uppu has not contributed to finding solutions to our problems. During the flooding at Gandhinagar, which is on the banks of the Yamuna, no one was available for a long time. The DC is not in touch with the public. He also does not attend RWA meetings when invited, and does not have the required cooperation with RWAs. A public servant needs to be accessible.”

Vohra also said, “It is naïve to think one cannot take out an hour in a month to meet the RWAs.”

But defending Uppu, SDM Gulati said, “The DC is accessible to everyone at all times. Whoever comes to meet him, he (Uppu) attends to their grievances though he has many other responsibilities.”

Shaukat Ali, president of D Block Mohalla Sudhar Samiti, West Vinod Nagar, said he had been running to different offices for two years just to get signage boards put up in his RWA. “These people only talk and do not work,” he said, while showing two letters (dated July 2012 and July 2013) for this but the work is far from done.

When the same letter was shown to DC (East) Uppu, he was quick to make a copy of it and assured that action would be taken at the earliest. Uppu also said, “Maybe the work is done for those who come first, and those who come later on are left out. Under the Bhagidari, there is no system of equitable distribution between RWAs. People will always have grievances – there is no end to that.”

SDM Gulati said, “Bhagidari is a brilliant scheme through which people can directly approach government officers now. However, the delay in getting work done is a problem of the system – procrastination is not intentional, it is procedural in nature.”

The essential problem of the Bhagidari system and its implementation lies in the officials’ inability to take swift actions. This forces RWAs to continuously visit different government offices, often in distress – RWA office-bearers say all that officers tell them is how the particular civic issues do not fall under their jurisdiction. The responsibility of an officer ends after informing the departments concerned.

The Bhagidari scheme has managed to create an aura of empowerment of the RWAs but it might soon wither away for want of a simplified procedure to ensure the residents’ problems are solved. And fast.

(Aishwarya is an intern with Governance Now)