A citizen's force to reckon with

There are two ways one can deal with incompetent administration. You could either say, “That’s just the way things work” and continue living in desolate conditions, or you could question authority and choose to commit to a long-term yet fruitful solution to your problems.

The Greater Alwal Allied Service Association (GAASA) has been doing just that for almost 30 years now. Working with civic bodies and agencies not just to help improve the quality of citizens’ lives in and around Alwal. The group has made itself a powerful, transparent force to fight civic injustice.

“Right from the beginning, the founding members had coined this phrase ‘Greater Alwal’ so that we should merge all the gram panchayats around Alwal, which was in real life merged only in 2010 or so,” says GAASA general secretary Dr G.V. Rao, adding, “Residential associations look at individual problems of their areas, but we look at common problems that affect everyone.”

What started with six colonies in 1987 has now grown to include 41. And the group has helped the area develop in a number of ways: Reduction in water and property tax, improved public transport, numerous parks and greenery added, and much more. In the recent GHMC elections, GAASA also held the city’s first town hall, where candidates answered questions from a manifesto prepared by them. “We prepared a questionnaire for the candidates — what their views were about the situations, what their plans and vision were,” Dr Rao says.

President and founding member K. Santokh Singh adds that GAASA’s experience has been widely appreciated by the corporators: “They told us that they needed our guidance and help.” All has not been smooth sailing, however, and they say that a revamping of the municipal administrative system is required. “Political interference is hindering the development of Alwal. Once during a meeting — which we video record for the benefit of those who can’t make it — some local politicians had tried to rough us up. With 35 witnesses, the police registered a complaint. But three days later they closed the case citing ‘lack of evidence’,” Dr Rao reveals.

The group’s focus now is on getting the five lakes in the Alwal area fenced — of which they’ve been successful so far with four — as well as getting the area’s main road widened. “The new government laid a foundation  stone for a '324 crore project to widen a three km stretch of road. But while they’re going forward with this they’re still allowing encroachments to come up at the same time,” rues Dr Rao.

GAASA also doesn’t hesitate to tackle citizens who do not comply with civic rules, but they add that people’s mindsets are now changing for the better. Says Dr Rao, “Those changes are coming slowly. I wouldn’t say that all of them are following rules, and we have a long way to go to get that required change. But it is happening.”