The Dirty Decentralised

Seram Neken *

IMC ward no 19 under Yaiskul AC on May 25 2011
Picture - TSE

"Money and muscle power ruled the recent Imphal Municipal Council elections. In almost all wards, each voter reportedly got two to three hundred rupee notes from counsellor candidates and rupees fifty to hundred from member candidates. This time the magnitude and expenses of local body elections were nearly at par with those of state assembly elections as the ensuing general election fever greatly polluted the Imphal Municipal Council Elections as never before.

Either the selection of true people's representatives at the grassroots levels will not be possible or the elected ones will not be able to perform their duties sincerely, because of the huge expenses incurred in wooing the voters. It is doubtful at this juncture that the hosts of people friendly development schemes at the disposal of the Municipal Council may not reach the intended targets.

Decentralisation of powers of governance to the grassroots level is encouraging, but the trend of decentralising the ugly electioneering practices at local levels is unfortunate."

Decentralization of authority to the grass root level is the true spirit of modern democracy. In very early period, people themselves in its collectivity gathered and took decisions for their governance. However, as the population became bigger day by day, people had to chose their representatives and entrust them the power of governance. Thus, election was inevitably born to democracy.

Today again, representation of people in India needs to be localized in view of the peculiar and micro-level necessities of the people, as India is a multi-faceted society composed of varied cultures, traditions, topography, economies etc. On that principle, local-self government through local bodies was instituted on priority basis and authorized to implement specific development programmes. In Manipur, the Panchayats at the village level in rural area, the Municipal Councils in the city urban area, the Nagar Panchayats at the transitory areas between the rural and the urban, and the Autonomous District councils in hill areas are important bodies at grassroots level.

The respective state governments are entrusted with the authority to define the executive powers of the local bodies as per local needs. As the powers and authority of Imphal Municipal Council depend on the state government's will, the influence of the state leadership on the local bodies is inevitable. Moreover, as the general elections are only a couple of months now, the elections to Imphal Municipal council are apparently an acid test of the performances or otherwise of the local MLAs concerned and the ruling political parties. The complete independence of local bodies in their sincere exercise of power will not be possible whenever the political parties and leaders at state level take active and undue part in their elections.

Imphal Municipal Council covers 27 wards of the seven assembly segments in Imphal east and Imphal west. As per 2001 census, the population of Imphal city is 2,17,275 and the total area of the city is 30.75 square km. falling under the jurisdiction of the Imphal Municipal Council. Besides Khwairamband as the main market, there are also a number of markets around the city which fall within the jurisdiction of the council and which need attention of the council.

Singjamei, Kwakeithel, Tera, Khurai and Wangkhei markets have been in lack of the municipal council's attention for the last many years. Imphal city is now having all the ailments of an urban poor ranging from traffic congestion to pollution, from improper drainage to unmanageable garbage, inadequate power and water supply to absence of proper toilets. In such a scenario, Imphal municipal council has many things to do with urgency and due accountability

Urgency of Attention:

A few hours of rain easily and quickly turns all roads and lanes of Imphal city into rivulets. The drainage system is a complete failure as the Rs 134.75 crore Imphal Sewerage Project inaugurated in 2002 can not be completed and executed till today. Besides inconveniencing the road commuters for nearly a decade, the slow work progress of the project may hamper the quality of the plan when it is completed.

A pioneer project in the whole North East region, this project taken up to control water pollution in Imphal city covering eleven wards of the Imphal Municipal Council in the first phase was supposed to be completed by October 2009. It is the urgent responsibility of the Imphal Municipal council to pursue for expediting the project execution so as to improve the drainage system in Imphal city.

(Nowhere to drain - a few hours of rain in Imphal city)

Another area of concern is the case of hundreds of street vendors who are toiling and sweating at the outskirts of the city, without their earlier business proceeds. A comfortable premise solely for the street vendors at a suitable place near the main market is the need of the hour. It will not only enhance their day to day business proceeds, but also increase people's convenience in marketing.

The schools, government offices, workshops etc located inside the Khwairamband market may be shifted to less congested areas in the outskirts so as to give room for the vendors. When the Nirmalabas High school, Johnstone school and other English schools premised at the Paona bazar and Thangal bazar are shifted to the outskirts of the city, there will be ample business sites and parking imbroglio will vanish. The Council may consider and propose such agenda for a proper city planning.

A city bus service in and around the Imphal city is highly needed in view of the unavailability of parking spaces for 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler vehicles. By assigning main parking spaces at the outskirts of the city, the city buses may bring in and out the passengers in the market round the clock. Besides reducing the traffic woes, city bus circulation of commuters will be beneficial to maintenance of city security. Moreover, the use of Bicycles may also be encouraged inside the city areas in order to promote healthy environment and control pollution with the initiative of the Imphal Municipal council.

Construction of public toilets which are highly inadequate in the city areas may be taken up on priority by the council. The hopeful launch of Zero Garbage campaign last year in the 27 wards of Imphal city has ended in verbatim without any fruitful yield. The planned and advertised garbage bins are not properly erected and utilised at all.

Under this campaign, awareness programs were held thrice in each of the ward carrying the message of keeping Imphal city neat and clean. The campaign also rewarded interested clubs with cash prizes to encourage them to work towards cleanliness of the city. However, the campaign has evidently failed to create awareness and motivate the people to keep Imphal city neat and clean.

In order to effectively bring in city development, the Imphal Municipal Council needs to exercise its powers sincerely, efficiently and boldly. The leadership at local levels is more valuable than those at the higher levels because the real execution of development programmes is done with their true initiative.

They are nearer to the beneficiaries; they know people's sentiments and pulses more than the state and national leaderships. It is imperative for the ruling parties and leadership to create an enabling environment for the local bodies to work independently and efficiently with less interference from their end. Only then, the true yields of decentralization will appear to adorn modern democracy.

(This article is filed under RK Maipaksana Journalist Fellowship)