RTI Katta Holds Seminar on Voter Empowerment Ahead Of Pune Municipal Elections; Four-Member Ward System Opposed
The RTI Katta on Sunday organised the seminar titled: “Local Body Elections: Role of Voters and Responsibilities of Corporators” at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, following the Supreme Court verdict to hold Pune Municipal Elections within four months. The seminar aimed to create voter awareness on the upcoming elections, which are scheduled to take place after a gap of eight years. The last PMC elections were held in 2017.
The seminar was chaired by Vandana Chavan, a former Rajya Sabha MP, and Mahesh Zagade, former Principal Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, along with organisers of RTI Katta, Vijay Kumbhar and Vineeta Deshmukh. Other speakers were RJ Sangram Khopade, Tanmay Kanitkar, founder member of Parivartaan NGO, and environmentalist Sarang Yadavadkar, who shared insights to empower Pune voters to make informed choices while exercising their right to vote in the upcoming municipal elections.
Moderated by Deshmukh, the seminar was inaugurated by a speech from Kumbhar, who spoke at length about the importance of the RTI legislation in bringing transparency to governance. Kumbhar said, "Citizens should not fear filing RTI complaints." Though the RTI Act has been diluted, it still remains a powerful tool to ensure accountability from officials, he added.
Chavan, the main speaker, recalled her role as mayor of Pune and highlighted the mechanics of local self-government, emphasising the need for pro-governance policies for voters. Condemning the Maharashtra government, she said, "It was a grave, illegal and unconstitutional act on the part of the Maharashtra government to not conduct municipal polls for eight years, against mandatory polls after five years as prescribed by the 74th Constitutional Act of 1992."
She vehemently opposed the four-member wards for the corporation elections, stating that it undermines corporator accountability and diminishes people's participation in democracy. She advocated for the 'one-ward, one-corporator' system and asked civic groups to oppose the proposed four-member ward. At the end of her speech, she presented a 'Voter's Pledge' and 'Citizen Charter' and asked voters to support candidates who align with the charter’s criteria.
The Voter's Pledge included the following points: Equitable and Basic Services; Protect Public Spaces and Environment and Promote Aesthetics; Good Health, Education and Social Services like Washrooms; and Promote Safe, Inclusive and Public Mobility. She emphasised the need for maintaining the city's aesthetics, arguing that it is explicitly mentioned in the 12th Schedule of the Constitution.
Zagade, citing the historical city-state of Athens in Greece, argued for civic-centric governance in the city. He called for the need to take the saddle of governance from corporators to the people. He said that municipal elections have become like mini state assembly elections, where political parties field candidates who could not make it into assembly elections, thereby jeopardising civic governance.
He also argued for activating 'Area Sabhas' as a platform for ensuring democratic participation in urban areas, stressing that only a people’s movement can transform democracy into a truly participatory system by holding representatives accountable for their roles, responsibilities, and duties.
RJ Sangram said that he will start a show, 'Ek Din Ka Corporator', inspired by the earlier show 'Ek Din Ka CM', to understand the civic issues and mechanisms for their subsequent redressal from Pune voters. Voters should be mobilised on the immediate civic issues concerning them, he added. Similarly, Kanitkar referenced the 'Prati Sarkar' initiative from the Quit India Movement in 1942, advocating a need for a 'shadow government' made from a group of responsible citizens monitoring local civic governance.
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