10 months on, ward committees less empowering than expected
(WorldNews India)

Ward committees, which aim to empower citizens so that they can oversee and monitor governance at the local level and bring accountability to the civic body, have yet to fulfil their potential. In the 10 months since monthly ward committee meetings were made compulsory, residents and citizens´ groups in several neighbourhoods have struggled to put in place effective mechanisms. Srinivas Alavilli of Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) estimates that of the 198 wards in the city, committees in not more than 70 or 80 are active. Since December...