MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF BRIHAN MUMBAI

The Local Area Citizen Group Rules

planned w.e.f. 1^st April 2006

(Draft by BMC & NGO Council as on 19^th March 2006 )

Introduction

1. Background
2. Vision for the Local Area Citizen Group
3. Definition of a Local Area Citizen Group
4. Geographical Area an LACG
5. Activities that an LACG can undertake
6. BMC’s obligatory support to LACGs
7. Mechanism of BMC and LACG engagement
8. Forming of an LACG
9. The Apex LACG Committee
10. Review of LACG Working

 Annexure 1: Application Form for formation of an LACG

 Annexure 2: Standard Terms

Annexure 3: Revised LACC circular

 
Introduction

The BMC and the NGO Council are both actively engaged in institutionalising civil society participation in governance as per an MoU. From this has evolved the concept of Local Area Citizen Groups, a proposed structure of citizen and BMC partnership to facilitate effective and meaningful public involvement.

Neighbourhood communities can provide BMC with valuable, detailed information about localities and neighbourhoods and monitor the BMC's plans, works and implementation to enable better delivery of civic services. Citizens as users / owners / occupiers of that area have inputs that they would like to contribute to BMC, but are currently unable to do so as the existing mechanisms of interaction are not adequate in terms of coverage and effectiveness. The LACG structure is designed to overcome the weaknesses of the present mechanisms of interaction with citizen groups.  

The main objective of the LACG concept is to create an institutional basis for a formal structure of citizen – civic interaction and partnership, so as to ensure a sustainable working process, that is not based on personalities or restricted to a single programme or scheme, and that can also be applied across the city for partnerships with other Government agencies.

1. Background

The concept of a Local Area Citizen Group has been devised based on the learnings of the ALM scheme, of the Dattak Vasti Yojana, (a community-led cleanliness programme in slums), and of the Local Area Citizen Committees (LACCs), all initiated by BMC, so as have voluntary ‘citizen units’ that enables coverage of the entire city and institutionalize group partnership for BMC – Citizen sustainability. Such a ‘citizen unit’ is also critical and essential to institutionalize community partnership in disaster management.  

2. Vision for the Local Area Citizen Group / Rationale of a Local Area ..

Citizen groups to be formal partners of BMC through a sustainable institutional mechanism in micro-planning, implementation, awareness creation, monitoring and feedback so as to help BMC to better fulfill its mandatory obligations of providing civic services to the city of Mumbai, to find optimal solutions on various civic related matters, and to assist BMC in its role in disaster management.

Involvement of the LACGs in any of the activities does not, in any way, absolve the BMC of fulfilling its obligatory responsibilities.

3. Definition of a Local Area Citizen Group

Definition: Local Area Citizen Group (LACG) means a group of owners or occupiers of residential or commercial premises of a defined area, who have come forward in order to be formal partners of BMC to enable better delivery of civic services, and who are recognised by the Municipal Corporation to do so on the basis of an institutional mechanism that enables them to act effectively.  

4. Geographical area of an LACG

1. An LACG area is expected to be one where people have common concerns, or the area has common characteristics, or shares a defined geographical space.
2. For administrative purposes, the Councillor Ward is proposed to be used as a base unit for the LACG, such that there are not more than 12 LACGs in any Councillor Ward.
3. LACGs are expected to cover a population of 4000-6000 people, where every owner / occupier of an LACG area is entitled to be a member of the LACG, if desired.
4. The boundaries of an LACG will be defined by roads, nallahs, water-bodies, railway lines, etc. and the Councillor Ward boundaries.
5. The geographic area of each LACG will be suggested by the Assistant Commissioner of the concerned Ward.  
6. Plans of suggested LACG boundaries have been prepared and are available at each Ward and on the BMC-NGO Council website.
7. The boundaries of an LACG may be altered based on the expressed demands of the residents/ users of that area, and such requests will be considered on a case-wise basis. The boundaries of an LACG may also be altered at any stage in consultation with LACGs on account of any administrative expediency.
8. Each LACG will have a unique number assigned to it by BMC. E.g.: Ward/ CW (LACG) = R(S) / 201(7)
9. Any road that forms the common boundary between 2 or more LACGs will be considered to be under both / all of the LACGs concerned, and the LACGs will work jointly on all issues pertaining to such roads / boundaries. Similarly, issues pertaining to ‘Nodes’ or intersections will be resolved jointly by all LACGs in which part of the Node falls.
10. A building / entity may also be in two or more LACGs where boundaries meet. 

5. Activities that an LACG can undertake

LACGs can be involved in the planning, implementation, awareness creation, monitoring, feedback, etc. of various issues that pertain to their locality. These include suggestions to BMC, joint working with BMC, communication to and from citizens or BMC, etc. The basic idea is to enable a sustained method of engagement between citizens and BMC so that optimal solutions can be found for various civic-related matters in that area consistent with overall policies, plans, procedures, projects for the entire city.

The LACGs can play a crucial role in the integration of community-based disaster preparedness and mitigation plans prepared by BMC, and in the strengthening of local capacities and institutions that will enable the mitigation of the impact of subsequent disasters.

LACGs who are interested will be suitably empowered to enable them to ensure enforcement of BMC Rules and implementation of BMC schemes. e.g. hiring private agencies to guard against / collect administrative charges from / prevent offenders, taking up Solid Waste Management activities as Agents of BMC, etc. subject to certain conditions and specific agreements.

An illustrative list of some of the activities to be undertaken by an LACG is as follows:

1. Undertaking a joint survey of their area regarding all civic matters
2. Providing feedback regarding BMC’s Overall plan for the area for the next 3 months by BMC
3. Providing ideas and proposals for Beautification and Greening
4. Cleanliness / Solid Waste Management
5. Assisting BMC in Undertaking special drives (cleanliness, polio eradication, etc)
6. Environment - reporting noise and air pollution, as well as visual pollution such as unauthorised advertisements, poster and political banners. 
7. Traffic and Roads – giving suggestions regarding parking, signals, dividers, road repairs, footpath repairs, street lights, repair of underground pipes / cables of utilities
8. Hawkers - footpath traffic, littering, waste, encroachment, noise, etc.  nuisance from shopkeepers or commercial organisations  
9. Reporting Encroachment on footpaths and public spaces - hawkers, vagrants, miscreants, nearby slum dwellers
10. Utilities – excavation of roads and footpaths for management of water, electricity, etc.  
11. Unauthorised / illegal  construction
12.  Stray dogs, cattle, etc.
13.  Disaster Management- receiving warnings, reporting situations and providing feedback
14.  Information dissemination: Acting as contact points for citizens for information, guidance, feedback to and fro on BMC related matters.
15.  Monitoring and reporting as per standard formats(permitting BMC to publicize their tel. numbers and email ids.)
16.  Using email to send reports and receive communication from BMC daily

6. BMCs obligatory support to LACGs

6.1 The following is the obligatory support that BMC will provide to
       LACGs:  

1. To appoint 227 Nodal Officers at each Councillor Ward for LACGs.
2. To undertake a Joint mapping of the LACG area regarding all civic matters, and prepare a report about the situation with remedial suggestions, and to file it with the relevant BMC and/or other Govt. departments.
3. BMC to inform LACGs suitably in advance about their proposed activity such as plans and programs including Work Orders and permissions given to utilities for road excavation, etc. for that area, to enable the LACG to give feedback, prepare for it, inform citizens, etc
4. To ensure that all LACG meetings are held regularly, with attendance of competent BMC officials, as specified. (detailed meeting structure and objectives is ahead)
5. To put into place a process for resolving issues and implementing solutions  via the Nodal Officer and through meetings at LACC (fortnightly), Ward (next fortnight), Zone (monthly), Additional MC (monthly), and MC levels in the form of group meetings of concerned LACGs.
6. To provide the specified support for each of the listed activities that the LACG takes up.
7. BMC internal procedures and policies to be suitably changed so as to take
   cognisance of the reports, feedback and suggestions received and to prepare Action Taken Reports as well as take decisions and prepare action plans.
8. BMC shall provide Enforcement Squads / Nuisance Detectors where required by LACGS for enforcement of Rules. BMC to incorporate LACGs in Enforcement Squads (if they so desire) to assist in enforcement of all relevant Rules. 
9. BMC to use services if offered by LACGs on an Agency basis LACGs for implementation of local schemes / plans of an area.
10. To set up information systems / internet linkages for data, communication
    and action between LACGs and BMC to work smoothly and transparently.
11. All such information that BMC is required to or intends to share publicly, shall also be shared with the NGO Council and  www.karmayog.org to act as an interface between MCGM and citizens, for which an MoU has been signed with BMC.     
12. BMC will give assistance for training and capacity building of its own officers / employees as well as citizens who are participating in LACGs in order to improve the efficiency of working of this system.
13. Various circulars will be amended where required to give effect to the working of the LACG concept as outlined in these Rules and as decided by the Apex LACG Committee from time to time (including circulars pertaining to ALMs and LACCs).
14. To publish a monthly newsletter in association with the NGO Council regarding LACG activities and related matters at its own cost.
15.  BMC will provide in-kind support for activities that an LACG undertakes. e.g. making composting pits, providing plants for greening, etc.
16. BMC to pay an honorarium to LACGs (with Final Registration) who undertake to carry out reporting and monitoring functions for BMC on a regular basis.
17. Any other obligatory responsibility as decided by the Apex Committee from time to time.

6.2. Model Agency Agreement:

LACGs that form a Co-operative Society will be authorised to enter into Model Agency Agreement, under which, the following is an illustrative list of support that will be provided by BMC:

1. LACGS to be authorised to act as Agents of BMC for various purposes as may be approved by the Municipal Corporation.
2. LACGs will be authorised to collect administrative charges or user fees as Agents of BMC in lieu of penalties from offenders as specified in the relevant Rules, or schemes approved by the Municipal Corporation.
3. BMC to use services offered by LACGs for implementation of local schemes / plans of an area, and to pay for these services. (such as sweeping, maintenance of composting units, etc) in accordance with schemes to be suggested by the apex LACG Committee for the approval of the Standing Committee of the Corporation.

6.3. Obligatory Responsibilities of the Nodal Officer:

227 Nodal LACG Officers will be appointed for the 227 Councillor Wards, with each Nodal Officer handling the 8-12 LACGs in that Councillor Ward. These Nodal Officers will be from the existing BMC employees at the Ward level, such as the AE (Maintenance), AHS, AE (Environment), Licence Inspector, Pest Control Officers, AE (Building & Factory), AE (Water), Joint Overseer, Community Development Officers, etc., and their obligatory responsibilities will be:

1. To facilitate the formation and registration of LACGs.
2. To facilitate and undertake joint-reporting for issues that require a deeper analysis, based on the needs of the specific situation. 
3. To ensure that the Complaint Officer at Ward Level enters all complaints / suggestions / feedback received into the computerised system.
4. To prepare Action Taken Reports on complaints / suggestions received
5. To conduct and follow up on LACC meetings
6. To prepare reports / inputs for higher level meetings
7. To be responsible for the coordination, facilitation, documentation and review of LACGs under him / her.
8. Any other designated work

7. Mechanism of BMC and LACG engagement  

7.1. Classifying of Issues  

Civic Issues will be categorised as 1) Regular and 2) Urgent

(Repair of Pavements or Tree Planting are examples of Regular Issues, while Disasters and Outbreak of Diseases are examples of Urgent Issues.)  

Besides ‘Urgent’ and ‘Regular’, issues / activities that occur over a larger Ward or Zone level (such as mega-transport or sewage projects) that affect several LACGs will be addressed through a different mechanism of group meetings of the concerned LACGs with BMC and other concerned Govt. agencies.
Officers on Special Duty will be assigned as the Co-ordinators for such issues, as well as for Urgent issues.

7.2 Meeting Schedule

All complaints / feedback / suggestions will have to be formally recorded with the Complaint Officer at Ward Level or entered into the computerised system, before they will be taken up at any level for redressal.

Complaints / feedback / suggestions that are Regular will be addressed via a Nodal Officer and via meetings at LACC (fortnightly), Ward (next fortnight), Zonal (next fortnight), Additional MC (monthly), and MC levels in the form of group meetings of concerned LACGs, in the following manner:

·         Meetings with the (227) Nodal Officer: BMC will designate a Nodal Officer for each LACG to interact with. Interaction frequency: as required.

Any issue that remains unresolved after a meeting with the Nodal Officer, and that has been recorded through the established computerised response mechanism will be taken up at the following meetings at succeedingly higher levels, until the matter is resolved.

·         Meetings of the LACC at the 227 Councillor Wards –:LACC meetings  held at each Councillor Ward. Frequency: Fortnightly. 

·         Meetings at 24 Administrative Wards: Issues that remain unresolved even after 2 LACC meetings will be dealt with at the Administrative Ward level. Frequency: Fortnightly.

·         Meetings at 6 Zones: Issues that remain unresolved even after 2 Ward meetings will be dealt with at meetings that will be held at the Zonal Level with the Dy. Municipal Commissioners. Frequency: Monthly.

·         Meetings with Addl. M.C: Monthly meetings at the Additional Commissioner Level will be held.  Frequency: Monthly. (Note: There are 4 Additional Municipal Commissioners and the city is divided geographically into three regions and by civic issue amongst them.)

·         Apex Committee Meetings: Bi-Monthly meetings of the Apex LACG Committee will be held at the BMC Head Office. Frequency: Once in two months

Table 1: LACG meeting schedule:

Notes:

1.      For the higher level meetings, LACGs will nominate members from amongst themselves so as to maintain a manageable number of participants in such meetings.

2.      Affected citizens / citizen groups e.g. RWAs, NGOs, etc., to also be invited to meetings to ensure that their point of view is adequately taken into account and recorded.

3.      Preparation of Meeting agenda, recording of Joint Minutes, and preparation of Action Taken Reports will be done by a nominee of the Nodal officer and LACGs. These will be further displayed publicly on the website, and the Minutes format will be suitable for integration into the M.I.S. when required.

4.      Minutes and Action Taken Reports to be maintained of meetings and shared publicly and submitted to the concerned LACG, appropriate levels in BMC, and the NGO Council.

5.      All meetings are for members / invitees only

6.      All complaints must be routed through and recorded with the established complaint mechanism. New complaints will not be discussed at meetings.

7.      Meetings are for deciding a course of action for unresolved complaints / suggestions received and for reviewing the Action Taken Reports.

8.      LACG members attending meetings will be invited to give Ratings for the different meetings based on satisfaction of people to the redressal of issues.

9.      Besides the meetings detailed above, other types of meetings for different purposes may also be held as required. Examples are: For information dissemination; for brainstorming; etc.

10.  There can also be specific meetings for overall civic issues e.g. Solid Waste Management planning for entire city, hawker regulations, parking and traffic regulations, etc.

11.  Emergency meetings for disasters and other special situations will be held with the concerned LACGs at appropriate levels as required.

12.  Meetings of citizens and other Civil Society Groups with BMC can continue outside this process.

13.  NGO Council nominees will be invitees to all meetings as observers, and have defined roles in higher level meetings.

14.  BMC will invite other Govt. agencies to meetings where required.

7.3 Complaint mechanism for LACGs and citizens

A) Complaints by LACGs

·         All LACGs to compulsorily make complaints only online via their unique registration number.

·         Nodal Officer to track and be responsible for resolving complaints

·         Complaints, if not addressed within time frame specified under the Citizen Charter, to be taken up at the fortnightly LACC meetings and thereafter as per BMC – LACG procedure mentioned earlier.

Note: Similarly procedures will be made for monitoring, reporting suggestions, and feedback.

B) Complaints by individual citizens:

Copies of direct complaints to BMC by citizens will be accessible / routed  to the LACG if the citizen so desires.

8. Forming an LACG  

1. Any citizen group that is interested in forming an LACG must do the following: a) make an application via a standard form

b) sign the standard terms  

2. The Nodal Officer will receive the applications for formation of an LACG and will assist the citizen group in completing the formalities and finalising the boundaries of the LACG area selected.

3. Applications for LACG formation will be received over a period of two months initially, which is the familiarisation period for the LACG Rules, after which Registration and approval will be given to the LACG within a further period of one month.

4. On completion of the 2 month familiarisation period, no new applications for LACG formation will be accepted for a further period of 4 months for any area (including unrepresented areas), during which time, BMC will set up of supporting infrastructure to facilitate LACG functioning. 

5. If the applicant is willing to cover the entire geographical area demarcated for that LACG, then that applicant will be preferred for registration as the LACG for that area.

6. If, however, the geographical coverage area that an applicant is willing to cover is less than that of the demarcated LACG area, then one or more non-overlapping applicants may be selected and given Provisional Registration as LACG(s) for that area, if found suitable otherwise.

7.  When any one of the Provisional LACGs [in (6)] expand to cover the entire demarcated LACG area, or a joint / merged entity comes forward to cover the entire demarcated LACG area, then the Registration of that entity will be made final.

8.  In case of more than one claim to form an LACG for the same area, selection of the LACG will be on the basis of record of credentials (of constructive activities in the area leading to any civic improvement).  Reasons for choosing one claimant over another will be made public.  

9.  No time limit will be given for forming a co-op society but a new group which gets registered as a co-op society with the necessary credentials and support may be approved to replace any provisional group or group that is not forming a co-op society as Co-op society formation is a must before any agency function or payments can be given by BMC. Reasons will be stated in writing and made public.

10.  An Apex LACG Committee will oversee the applications received for LACG formation, and Provisional or Final Registration will be given to the LACG for a period of one year. 

11.  Upon Provisional or Final Registrations, appropriate ID cards will be given to every LACG Committee Member for one year. 

12.  New applications for LACG formation (after the completion of the first year of this scheme) will be received every year in Jan. and Feb. and approval will be given in Mar. for a period of one year.

9. The Apex LACG Committee  

An Apex LACG Committee will be formed that will include the Municipal Commissioner, all Additional Municipal Commissioners, 5 Mayor's representatives (Councillors), 5 NGO Council representatives, and 5 LACG representatives, as its members.  

The Committee will have the following roles:  

1. selection of new LACGs, based on specified criteria
2.  formulation of policies and procedures pertaining to the LACG concept including a model agency agreement and agency schemes
3. devising a system of monitoring and reporting for LACGs
4. undertaking periodic reviews of LACG functioning, and BMC-LACG interactions
5. setting up other committees and support systems for LACGs as and when required
6. problem-solving for LACGs and overall LACG coordination.
7.  specifying the role of LACGs during disasters and other emergencies
8. crisis intervention
9. recommending budgetary provisions for LACG working
10. devising and suggesting funding mechanisms for LACG working
11. others as decided by time to time

10. Review of LACG Working:
 
a) Review of individual LACGs:

i) All LACGs will be required to submit quarterly reports in a specified format to BMC.

ii) LACG working to be also reviewed quarterly by the owners/occupiers of that area, who will be invited to submit feedback and reports as per specified formats / structures / or through an Open House Meeting.

iii) The Apex LACG Committee will set up systems for yearly reviews of individual LACGs. I-cards will be extended for the succeeding next year only after and based on such reviews.

iv) Registration of LACGs which do not pass the review will be revoked. Reasons will be made public.  

b) Review of BMC support and response to LACGs:

i) All LACGs will be required to submit six-monthly reviews in a specified format to the Apex Committee about the BMC – LACG engagement process and effectiveness.  

 c) Overall Review: The overall working of the LACG system will be monitored and reviewed by the “Apex LACG Committee”   yearly including areas such as BMC’s support to LACGs; citizen response and participation; evaluation of incentives, etc.  

d) General:

i) The Apex LACG Committee may also have reviews undertaken by third-parties including NGOs that are appointed specifically for this purpose.

ii) Reviews shall be presented to the Apex Committee and shared with the public.  

                                                    Annexure 1: Application Form for LACG formation

                                                           (Note: 1. All Application forms will be made public

      2. Form subject to change as required)

For internal use:       Full LACG area / Part LACG area 

Address for correspondence:

Name of LACG (if any):

Name of Contact person:

Address:  

Email:

Tel. no.:

A. Proposed Name of the LACG (if any):  

B. Location:  

1. Administrative Ward: Example : R(s)
2. Councillor Ward No.: E.g.: 210
3. Local Area Citizen Group No.:(from plan) E.g.: (7)
4. Area / Locality: (full / part) E.g.: ______ Colony

B. Profile of Applicants:  

1. Names of 3 persons who will be part of the LACG Committee:

I    i) Name: Mr. / Mrs. / Dr.

ii) Address in the locality:

iii) Contact No.:        home:

office:

cell:

fax:

          iv) Email 1:

     Email 2:

v) One line profile:

vi) Chairperson / Secretary / Member

     II   i) Name: Mr. / Mrs. / Dr.

ii) Address in the locality:

iii) Contact No.:        home:

office:

cell:

fax:

iv) Email 1:

     Email 2:

v) One line profile:

vi) Chairperson / Secretary / Member

     III  i) Name: Mr. / Mrs. / Dr.

ii) Address in the locality:

iii) Contact No.:        home:

office:

cell:

fax:

iv) Email 1:

     Email 2:

v) One line profile:

vi) Chairperson / Secretary / Member

 C. Geographical Coverage of LACG:

(Please attach a plan of the area and shade the area proposed to be covered in yellow)  

             1.      Is the entire LACG area as demarcated by BMC being covered? Yes/ No

2.      If answer is ‘No’, in 1. above, specify boundaries of area proposed to be covered, and mark the same on the attached plan.

North:

East:

South:

West:  

D. Details of Support:  

A. Details of Representation of members of the LACG area

The following details of the Applicants representation of the members of the LACG area are to be provided:

(Some examples of entities within an LACG area: housing societies / residential complexes, Merchant Traders associations, schools, colleges and institutions, etc.)  

B. Details of Support from Entities with Record of Past Activity undertaken in the area

The following details of any past work done for the improvement of the area by Entities / organisations that support this LACG application,  are to be provided, if available. Supporting documents such as photographs, press clippings may also be attached. (Some examples of entities that may be included: ALMs, NGOs, RWAs, CBOs, DVYs, etc.)  

E.: Any other information:   

Annexure 2 - Standard Terms

Roles and responsibilities of an LACG:  

Provisional and Final Registration:  

1. Where the LACG registration is Provisional due to only a part of the demarcated LACG area being covered, the LACG must demonstrate its intent within a time frame, to increase its geographical coverage to cover the entire demarcated LACG area.

Activities:  

2. The LACG Committee is expected to take up one or more of the activities affecting their area, or activities / issues that are requested / expressed for by the citizens of that area.
3. Work done under each activity must be documented and will form part of the individual annual review of the LACG.
4. LACGs will also be expected to partner with the BMC is any city-wide or Ward-wide initiatives / activities, for which BMC will undertake to pay for the services rendered by the LACG.
5. LACGs will also take part and assist the BMC in any activity that is conducted at the Ward level.

Meetings and Internal Functioning of the LACG:  

6. The LACG Committee must conduct a public meeting of all LACG members at least once in 3 months. (general body meeting)
7. The LACG Committee must meet at least once a month, and Minutes of such meetings are to be maintained and produced if required.
8. The LACG Committee must ensure that one representative attends the LACC meetings every fortnight. Failure to attend 4 consecutive LACC meetings will result in the suspension of that LACG Committee, and a new Committee will have to be formed.
9. Members of an LACG Committee need to be re-elected can hold office for a maximum period of 3 years, after which the LACG members internally elect / select a new Committee.

We have read the standard terms and conditions and accept the same.

Signed:  

1. Chairman:  

2. Secretary:  

3. Treasurer / Member

                                           Annexure 3 – Revised LACC circular