REPORT CTAG/ CVTC FORMATION CONSULTATION IN RAJKOT CITY. Date: October 21, 2008 Venue: West Zone Office, Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Rajkot

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1 REPORT CTAG/ CVTC FORMATION CONSULTATION IN RAJKOT CITY Date: October 21, 2008 Venue: West Zone Office, Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Rajkot Prepared By UNNATI Organisation for Development Education G-1/200, Azad Society, Ahmedabad Phone: , Fax:

2 Introduction A consultation was organized by Rajkot Municipal Corporation in collaboration with UNNATI- Organization for Development Education (anchor NGO under JnNURM for Gujarat) for establishing the City Technical Advisory Group (CTAG) and City Technical Volunteers Corps (CVTC) under JnNURM at Rajkot Municipal Corporation, West Zone office on 21 st October National and State Technical Advisory Groups, Gujarat Urban Development Mission, Civil Society Organizations from Rajkot and Ahmedabad, various professionals and academicians supported the consultation. This was the first consultation held in Gujarat for establishing the CTAG/CVTC committee under JnNURM. The Mayor, Sandhyaben Vyas, the Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Mr. Brahmbhatt, Commissioner of Junagadh Municip al Corporation, Mr. Binoy Acharya, Director, Unnati were present. In total eighty-two participants from Municipal Corporations, NGOs, academicians and communities participated in the event. Introduction of the Consultation Mr. Vijay Anadkat, Nodal officer, JnNURM, Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) welcomed the participants and talked about the importance of the consultation. He introduced JnNURM and the provisions under 74 th constitutional amendment. The participation of citizens in governance processes was always recognized but is getting fulfilled through JnNURM in cities. He further informed participants that the RMC already has five informal groups working for city development; same can be remoulded as CVTC and CTAG with modifications. The objective of the consultation was to finalise the members for CTAG/CVTC. Welcome addresses Mr. D.H Brahmbhatt, Commissioner, RMC, gave the inaugural address where he welcomed everyone and emphasized on the importance of such a meeting. He wished the process his best and hoped to see another successful initiative in Rajkot. Mayor of Rajkot, Sandhyaben Vyas addressed the participants next and mentioned how this interaction will provide a platform to build a holistic perspective for development of city. Ms Alice Morris from Unnati also welcomed the participants and thanked them for their cooperation. Mr Brahmbhatt addressing the participants

3 Technical sessions Vijay Anadkat giving a presentation on CTAG Followed by the welcome session technical session was started by Mr. Vijay Anadkat (Special, City Engineer, JnNURM). His presentation explained JnNURM and its various aspects, progress made under the scheme in Gujarat, funds allocated and available, projects approved in the four mission cities in the state and the status of implementation of various reforms proposed under the scheme in Rajkot. He also introduced participants to CTAG/CVTC structures, their working mechanism and role, the process for their constitution and their impact. A presentation by Chiragbhai gave an overview about the status of Rajkot city under JnNURM. Next presentation was by Dr Marvania, who is faculty in the Economics Department at Saurashtra University. He informed the participants that the university is soon starting a certificate course on Urban Management. This course will include micro study of the data related to urban systems and its application in management practices in urban development. He was of the opinion that educational institutions like Indian Institute of Management, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology, National Institute of Design etc have a strong impact in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and similar relationship should be established between Rajkot Municipal Corporation and Saurashtra University. According to him an efficient transport system is prerequisite for sustainable development of city. The municipal commissioner Mr. Brahmbhatt asked Dr Marvania about the contents of the new course being launched. The course includes tax collection, urban Dr management, Marvania sharing processes his of urbanization etc. concerns Mr Ankur Hathi, an architect from Rajkot, gave a presentation on the scenario of old city and the problems being faced in other parts of the city. He gave on overview of the architecture, status of heritage buildings and present traffic scenario in the old part of the city. Other problems of the city are lack of parking space, inadequate facilities for pedestrians, cattle problem and encroachment of footpaths. Their proposal was to start Rajkot heritage walk, develop road infrastructure that is practical and cheap and especially identify critical junctions in the city, introduction of paid parking, developing proper signage system and involving private sector in development and upkeep of roads.

4 Vijaybhai after the presentation informed all that Rajkot Heritage Walk is under progress. City heritage conservation plan has been made by Rajkot and is pending approval. Road widening will be addressed under the Rajkot City Comprehensive Mobilization Plan (CMP) and this is also under approval. The Commissioner praised the presentation as it had brought forward real issues being faced by the people in Rajkot. He also requested the architects to come up with an innovative design that can help in solving the parking problem in the city. They should also analyze how they can help RMC in bringing forth people voices and providing sustainable and affordable development. Vinod from Navjivan presenting on urban poor Navjivan trust is a leading NGO working in Rajkot on issues of urban poor. In their presentation they highlighted problems of urban poor in their various dimensions. At one point they mentioned that HIV positive patients were not getting adequate treatment and attention from medical authorities. The commissioner asked them to give him specific names and instances and he will get the needful done. A copy of the poverty alleviation plan of the RMC was given to the representatives of Navjivan Trust. Ms Nitika Arora and Ms Sonali Guha were representing NTAG and they shared the experiences of Jaipur, Madurai and Patna; the cities where CTAGs have been established. Ms. Nitika also explained the process of formation and role of CTAG and CVTC. The concept of Community Participation Fund was also introduced. Its objectives, eligibility criterion, approval process, funds and learning based on experience were shared with participants. Mr Binoy Acharya, Director, Unnati spoke next about importance of civic participation in governance processes. As citizens of our country our duty does not stop at casting vote once every five years. Working together and taking up responsibilities is very important. Lack of coordination between officials and common man leads to poor dissemination of information about various schemes that are available for them. He praised RMC s works and the schemes like information dissemination kiosks at civic centers. CTAG and CVTC are a step towards increasing the amount of participation of people in civic processes. Projects should be formulated and implemented so that they cater to the needs of the poor and improve their access to services. If CTAG and CVTC will Binoy Acharya presenting on Civic participation

5 function efficiently and will work hard Rajkot will become the only Municipal Corporation in India where civic participation will be part of every planning process. Some recommendations for the RMC from him were: Touch screen kiosks for info dissemination. There is negligible participation of women and slum dwellers in working committees. Their participation should be ensured in equal numbers. Slum networking is important to provide basic services in existing slums as relocating everyone is not possible. Only provision of basic services will lead to huge improvement in their status See what has been the effect of these projects on the poor. Which water plant is providing water to which ward and how many poor or slums covered under new water schemes? Try to facilitate formation of proposals after community consultation under the community participation fund. Last presentation was by Dr Prakash Modha who gave a presentation on how improvement of sanitation system in city is important for a healthy city. Water borne diseases are very common in Rajkot and the corporation should along with improving the sanitation facilities disseminate information about the symptoms and common cures of such diseases. Expectations of medical fraternity from Rajkot Municipal Corporation Upgrading Water, Sanitation and other such facilities having direct bearing on Public Health. Proper mapping of Health care facilities in Rajkot. Effective Health Awareness programmes and health check up camps. Creating a Health data repository with a regular disease surveillance programme. Initiation of Pre-emptive and preventing measures based on the analysis of historical data. Initiating a subsidized health insurance for APL families with the help of NGO. Dr. Modha presenting on issues in urban health care Upgrading Public health facilities of the Corporation with provision of a multispeciality hospital and Medical College with co-operation from local corporate under corporate social responsibility. During a discussion session held after these presentations following issues came out:

6 (1) CTAG/CVTC are tools to bring in transparency and build civic engagement among citizens. RMC should first start from home and ensure that all public buildings under it are kept clean and tidy. Defaulters like spitters etc should be publicly humiliated and the public places should be kept spic and span. This will also send a strong message among the citizens who in large numbers visit these offices everyday. (2) CTAG should ensure that voices of people do not remain suppressed. The builder association gave its consent to work for SWM or in development of projects in cooperation with RMC. CTAG/CVTC should be made with consent of people. (3) RMC has been working extensively and can help other cities by sharing its knowledge and experience. This can be done in the form of an Urban Research Centre. (4) City development does not mean development of poor but rather means development, which works to eliminate poverty. RMC should think how NURM projects could be linked to other schemes of government. Lot of organizations is working in rural areas but few works in urban areas. There is a vacuum for capacity building of such organizations and this should be recognized and addressed quickly. (5) Projects should be implemented in slum areas first. Basic facilities like - school, health center playground etc. should be available near residential settlements. Finally, Ms. Alice Morris thanked all participants who had come together to make the event successful.

7 List of participants ANNEXURE 1

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12 Newspaper Clippings ANNEXURE 2

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