The ALM had been formed in the year 1998. It covers fifteen buildings (including bungalows). The ALM collects a monthly sum of Rs. 30/- from each resident family in the area and Rs. 100/- from each bungalow and shop covered by the ALM. All the costs and expenditure incurred by the ALM are met from this resource pool.  

Working:

Initially the federation of ALMs had regular meetings with the BMC officials, where representative from each ALM would be present. Problems and issues would be discussed and future course of action be laid down in such meetings. Now, the meetings do not take place frequently as well as regularly. 

• Segregation of the waste at its source and composting of the wet waste.

The ALM has been able to construct two large pits for composting of the wet waste generated by the resident households. All the buildings in the area use the pits. Most of the households segregate the waste into dry and wet. The sweeper employed by the ALM segregates waste generated by families that do not practice this habit. The sweeper dumps all the wet waste into one of the pits on a daily basis and rag pickers take all the dry garbage. A lady (one of the rag pickers associated with Stree Mukti Sanghatana) has been employed by the ALM to turn and churn the waste daily. A liquid solution of BTM (easily available in the market) also needs to be added to the waste for its early decomposition. The manure thus prepared (within 15-20 days) from the decomposition of the waste is used for the plants and trees in the locality itself.
  

• Regular Health camps for the resident families, like- a camp for checking Hepatitis-B virus had been organized by the ALM recently.

Good Practices:

• The coordinator of the ALM initiated the formation of a Federation of ALMs. It was named as ALMNAC and all the ALMs coming under the particular ward became a part of it. It was started in order to promote coordinated and combined efforts of ALMs and work as a pressure group in order to get things done from the government.
• The ALM has its own equipment required for carrying out the cleanliness activities, like- big buckets/bins, wheel burrow, broom etc.
• The ALM had evolved a concept of ‘shramdaan’ (free labour).

The ALM took up a drive (in its initial years) to clean up the drains and roads in their area. Due to lack of required funds and cooperation from the government, the residents of the area took up brooms and other cleaning equipments in their hands and devoted one-day labour towards cleaning and beautifying of their area. They first cleaned the drains (to the extent possible) and then planted small plants near the roadside.
   

• Informal interaction and gatherings at various festivals and occasions (New Year Party, competition for the children, facilitation of all the students etc.) among the resident families help in securing participation from them. Regular get-together parties ensure a cohesive and harmonious environment in the locality, which breeds the feelings of mutual help and cooperation.

Problems faced:

• Lack of cooperation and support from the BMC officials. Meetings with BMC officials do not take place. Efforts of ALM members get wasted due to improper follow up by concerned government officials. This in turn reduces the morale and motivation level of the residents.
• The ALM faces problems working with the slum communities covered under their area. The slum dwellers do not cooperate and support the cleanliness initiatives taken by the ALM members. 
• With regard to accomplishment of the goal ‘Zero Garbage Area’, the corporation has removed most of the dustbins from the area without even sensitizing the general public about it. Lack of bins, instead adds to the problem of garbage littering.

Suggestions:

• Working of ALMs should be institutionalized. The office bearers of the ALM should be issued identity cards by the BMC. Such an authority might help the members in dealing with hawkers, nuisance makers, shop owners etc.
• ALMs should work in close coordination with Dattak vastis (counterpart of ALMs for slum area) and CBOs (Community Based Organizations) for effective functioning.
• The government or NGOs should provide some incentives or support mechanism to ALMs. For example- rag pickers of an NGO called FORCE collect dry waste from various housing societies free of cost, whereas other rag pickers have to be paid for the same job. 

Impression about the ALM

It appeared that the ALM had taken up lots of initiatives to keep their surroundings clean. There was lot of participation from residents of the housing society but they lacked commitment and dedication in their efforts. So, the whole responsibility in the end was laid on the coordinator of the ALM.

by Snigdha Jain, TISS Student, interning with www.karmayog.org