To make matters worse, only one proposal was found good enough to be forwarded to the Union government for consideration. The Union government had launched the Community Participation Fund (CPF) under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in August 2007 to promote citizen’s participation in the development process.
We received only three proposals despite a public invitation. Only one could be forwarded as the other two failed to meet the eligibility criteria, said Ashok Kalamkar, Joint Municipal Commissioner, PMC. The one that found favour with the civic administration is a proposal for a pre-fabricated plant to make biogas from garbage, mostly leftover food waste from 500 households in Gokhale Nagar. The other two were for a crèche at Hinganemala in Hadapsar and a library in Gokhale Nagar.
The proposal of Dyanal Mahila Mandal for a pre-fabricated biogas plant was the only one found eligible for the CPF. The other two proposals were ruled out as the civic administration was unable to provide land, Kalamkar said.
He admitted that the process of seeking CPF is tedious and needs to have the consent of 51 per cent of the population of the area with an assurance of self-sustainability of the project.
Ranjit Gadgil, Director at Janwani that focuses on peoples participation in governance, said he was not surprised by the poor response to the CPF as the process for sending the proposal is too complex. The PMC has not been successful in creating awareness on CPF and there is no way the citizens can fulfill the tedious process, he said.
NGOs are ready to help in preparing the proposals only if the civic body takes up the responsibility to create awareness and convince people about the benefits of the CPF, he said.
We were expecting the mandatory 51 per cent consent from the community members, but around 80 per cent came together in favour of implementing the biogas project, said Bhagyashree Orase, president of Dyanal Mahila Mandal.
In accordance with rules under CPF, around 30 community members have taken up the responsibility for its operations and maintenance to make it self-sustainable.
The members in the community have also assured in writing to raise 10 per cent of the project cost themselves. If waste from 500 households is recycled it could create energy that will help in reducing the consumption of LPG, Orase said.
Where people can help in development
* Projects eligible for CPF under JNNURM: Solid waste management, community biogas installation, crèche, centre for elderly, building or rebuilding local vegetable markets, legal education resource centre
* Maximum assistance of Rs 10 lakh; mandatory contribution of 5 per cent from poor communities and 10 per cent from other communities
* Resident associations, neighbourhood groups, youth clubs and market committees can apply for CPF
* Maximum duration for project implementation is one year
URL: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/few-citizens-enter-development-ring-with-new-ideas/366746/