MCGM – LACG Partnership 2006 : Dated – 1 April, 2006

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF GREATER MUMBAI

Charter for the MCGM – Local Area Citizen Group Partnership 2006

w.e.f. 1^st April 2006 

    Index of Contents:

            Introduction

1. Background
2. Vision
3. Definition of a Local Area Citizen Group
4. Geographical Area of a Local Area Citizen Group
5. Activities that a Local Area Citizen Group can undertake
6. MCGM’s obligatory support to LACGs

6.1 General obligatory support

6.2 Support via an Agency Agreement

6.3 Support via the Nodal Officer

6.4 Support via the Chief Nodal Officer

6.5 The Apex LACG Committee

7. Mechanism of MCGM and LACG engagement

7.1 Complaint mechanism for citizens and LACGs after June 1 2006

7.2 Meeting Schedule to resolve issues & Table 1: meeting schedule

7.3 Procedures to deal with different types of civic issues

8. Procedure for Applying for, Registering and De-registering an LACG

8.1 Application and selection of an LACG & Table 2: Schedule for
      Receiving & Processing LACG applications

8.2 Functioning of an LACG

8.3 Cancellation of an LACG Registration

9. Review of the Working of the LACG Partnership  

Annexure 1: Application Format for LACG registration  

Introduction

Neighbourhood communities can provide MCGM with valuable, detailed information about localities and monitor the MCGM’s plans, works and implementation to enable better delivery of civic services. Citizens as users / owners / occupiers of an area have inputs to contribute to MCGM but are currently unable to do so as the existing mechanisms of interaction are not adequate in terms of coverage and effectiveness. The MCGM – Local Area Citizen Group Partnership is designed to overcome the inadequacies of the present mechanisms of interaction with citizen groups. 

The main objective of the MCGM – Local Area Citizen Group Partnership is to create an institutional basis for a formal structure of citizen – civic interaction and participation, 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 with and by other Government agencies. Through such a partnership, local problems can be identified and resolved quickly, and optimal solutions can be found for various civic-related matters in that area consistent with overall policies, plans, procedures and projects for the entire city.

LACGs can also play a crucial role in the integration of community-based disaster preparedness and mitigation plans prepared by MCGM, and in the strengthening of local capacities and institutions to lessen the impact of disasters.

1. Background

The MCGM and the NGO Council [v] are actively engaged in institutionalising civil society participation in governance as per an
MoU [z]. From this has evolved the concept of the Local Area Citizen Group, a new structure of citizen and MCGM partnership.

The concept of a Local Area Citizen Group is based on the learnings and experiences from the Advanced Locality Management (ALM) scheme, the MCGM partnership with the Dignity Foundation, the Dattak Vasti Yojana, (a community-led cleanliness programme in slums), and the Local Area Citizen Committees (LACCs), all initiated by MCGM. The idea is to have voluntary ‘citizen units’ that enables coverage of the entire city and that institutionalises a sustainable framework for MCGM – Citizen engagement.

Formation of ALM groups were encouraged by the MCGM with a view towards promoting segregation of waste and composting of biodegradable waste in the premises of owners / occupiers. While some ALM groups effectively undertook segregation of waste and composting, many of them used the interactions at the Ward level meetings to make MCGM officials aware of and attend to their complaints and suggestions regarding local civic matters.

Realising the value of such interactions with citizens, MCGM further introduced the Local Area Citizens Committees at the Councillor Ward level. Through these, a larger number of citizen groups and other Voluntary Area Representatives could participate in meetings with designated officials of the Ward regularly to get various civic problems solved. The elected Councillors were also included as members of the LACC meetings.

The absence of clearly defined criteria, including the minimum geographical area to be represented by a citizen group, and a clear set of rules institutionalising the LACCs as an integral part of the MCGM structure and functioning, restricted the potential and effectiveness of the LACCs.

The Local Area Citizen Group concept is also based on the realisation that the existence of such a relationship with active ‘citizen units’ is critical and essential in promoting community involvement in disaster management, as learnt through the experiences of the flooding crisis in Mumbai in July 2005. During the post-flood relief work undertaken by MCGM, a strong need for an NGO Coordination Committee was felt to maximise and efficiently use the diverse and valuable skills, services and experiences that NGOs and Civil Society had to offer to MCGM, and this led to the formation of the NGO Council, by Karmayog, as a representative and coordinating body of Civil Society (Organisations).

The Fact-Finding Committee on Mumbai Floods appointed by the Government of Maharashtra (The Chitale Committee) also recommends that “The key to sustainable development is the empowerment of residents through action-oriented partnerships at all levels. Sustainable development should be our ultimate objective. Advanced Locality Management (ALM) groups could be an effective mechanism in that direction. Hence ALMs should be set up throughout the Mumbai and in the Metropolitan Region to involve citizens in the management of civic life as well as to handle disaster situations.”

The above-mentioned committee further recommends, “In any disaster management plan, the citizens must be active and heavily involved. More than being victims of the disaster, we have to look at them as being the first line of defence in responding to the disaster. To that extent, they are not subjects of government, but partners in governance.”

Further learnings of MCGM and the NGO Council during the framing of the Municipal Solid Waste (Prohibition of Littering and Regulation of Segregation, Storage, Delivery and Collection) Rules 2006, underlined the critical role of citizens taking responsibility and being partners with MCGM to achieve effective implementation of rules and plans. Hence, the NGO Council, in consultation with MCGM, has proposed Local Area Citizen Groups as a method of institutionalising civil society participation in governance in coordination with the NGO Council.

Now, therefore, the Municipal Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai hereby notifies the Charter for the MCGM – Local Area Citizen Group Partnership 2006.

[v] The NGO Council is the Council of Non-Governmental Organisations of Mumbai that is a representative body of Civil Society Organisations and the NGO sector in Mumbai, and comprises a mix of organisations with complementary expertise covering different concerns. 

[z] An MoU to promote Good City Governance between Civil Society Organisations and MCGM was signed between MCGM and the NGO Council on 12^th Dec. 2005. For full text of the MoU, refer www.karmayog.org

2. Vision

Vision: “Citizen groups to be formal partners of MCGM through a sustainable institutional mechanism in micro-planning, monitoring, implementation, awareness creation, and feedback so as to help MCGM better fulfill its mandatory obligations towards providing civic services and infrastructure, finding optimal solutions for various civic related matters, as well as assisting MCGM in its role in disaster management in every local area.”

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

3. Definition of a Local Area Citizen Group

An LACG is a group of owners or occupiers of residential, commercial and/or institutional premises of a defined geographical area, who have come together and are recognised as formal partners by MCGM to enable better delivery of civic services and provision of civic infrastructure in that area and to do so on the basis of a co-ordination mechanism between MCGM and the NGO Council.

4. Geographical area of a Local Area Citizen Group  

1.  An LACG area is expected to be one where people have common civic concerns, or which has common characteristics, or shares a well-defined geographical space.

2. For administrative purposes, the Councillor Ward is proposed to be demarcated into defined Local areas to serve as base units for LACGs.  

3. The demarcation of an LACG is based on both the population density and geographical expanse of the area, with the objective of enabling coverage of the entire area of the city in manageable units. Hence, the city is proposed to be divided into approximately 2000 LACG units, with each LACG unit covering 5000 to 10000 persons (assuming the population of Mumbai is 1.5 crore).  

4. The boundaries of an LACG will be defined by roads, nallahs, water-bodies, railway lines, etc. and the boundaries of other LACGs and the Councillor Ward itself. Boundaries of relevant administrative and electoral units such as sweeping beats and polling booths may also be taken into consideration as required.

5. The geographical area of each LACG will be suggested by the Assistant Commissioner of the concerned Ward in consultation with active local citizen groups in the area.  

6. The boundaries of an LACG may be altered based on the expressed demands of the owners/occupiers 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 on account of any administrative expediency by MCGM.  

7. Each LACG will have a unique number assigned to it by MCGM e.g. Ward CW (LACG) = R(S)141(7) for LACG unit No. 7 in Councillor Ward 141 in Administrative Ward R (South).  

8. Any road that forms the common boundary between two or more LACGs will be considered to be under each of the LACGs concerned, and the LACGs will work jointly on all civic issues pertaining to such roads / boundaries. Similarly, civic issues pertaining to ‘Nodes’ or intersections will be resolved jointly by all LACGs in which part of the Node falls. Further, for any extended physical feature such as long, arterial roads that span several Wards and include many LACGs, the concerned LACGs will be required to work jointly on issues connected with that road.   

9. A building / physical entity may also be in two or more LACGs where boundaries meet. 

5. Activities that a Local Area Citizen Group can undertake

LACGs can be involved in survey, planning, implementation, awareness creation, monitoring and feedback relating to various civic issues that pertain to their locality. These include suggestions to MCGM, joint working with MCGM, communication to and from citizens or MCGM, etc.

LACGs can undertake activities to address civic issues in their local area including:

1. Feedback on MCGM’s proposed plans and projects for the area
2. Beautification & greening
3. Gardens, playgrounds, recreation grounds, parks, beaches, monuments, trees
4. Cleanliness / solid waste management / sanitation
5. Public amenities
6. Environmental pollution – noise, air, water
7. Dealing with unauthorised advertisements, posters and political banners
8. Street furniture e.g. railings
9. Suggestions for traffic, footpaths and roads
10. Road repairs and nallah / storm water drain cleaning
11. Excavation of roads and footpaths for management of water, electricity, etc.  
12. Rain water harvesting
13. Regulation of hawkers
14. Encroachments on footpaths and public spaces 
15. Nuisance of stray dogs, cattle, birds, etc.
16. Special drives e.g. polio vaccination
17. Assignments / responsibility of the following types may be taken up by LACGs if MCGM makes payments:
    1.  Joint survey of civic infrastructure and services and also of local resources which can be harnessed for disaster management
    2. Information dissemination by acting as a contact point for citizens for information, guidance, feedback to and fro on MCGM related matters
    3. Monitoring and reporting as per standard formats
    4. Disaster Management e.g. receiving warnings, reporting situations, providing feedback, registering volunteers and maintaining a database of local resources

Note:

1. LACGs that are interested will be suitably empowered to enforce MCGM Rules / Guidelines and to implement MCGM schemes by entering into an Agency Agreement with MCGM as per Clause 6.2.

2. The procedure for undertaking a civic issue will be as per Clause 7.3.

6. MCGM’s obligatory support to LACGs

6.1 General Obligatory Support:  

1. To appoint Nodal Officers for each of the 227 Councillor Wards as well as a Chief Nodal Officer at the MCGM Head office
   
2. To put into place, in consultation with the NGO Council, a process for resolving civic issues and implementing solutions via the Nodal Officers and through meetings at Councillor Ward (fortnightly), Ward (fortnightly), Zone (fortnightly), Additional Municipal Commissioner (monthly), and Municipal Commissioner levels as per this Charter  

3. To ensure that all LACG related meetings are held regularly and conducted properly, with attendance of concerned MCGM officials, as specified in Clause 7.2  

4. To suitably change MCGM internal procedures and policies so as to take
   cognisance of the reports, feedback and suggestions received and to take decisions, prepare action plans, and file Action Taken Reports  

5. To set up information systems / internet linkages for data, communication and action between LACGs, MCGM and the NGO Council for smooth and transparent working  

6. To actively assist LACGs in activities that are taken up, in areas such as survey, planning, implementation, awareness creation, monitoring and feedback  

7. To provide in-kind support, where feasible and desirable, for activities that an LACG undertakes e.g. making composting pits, providing plants for greening, etc.  

8. To undertake a mapping of the LACG area regarding all government civic infrastructure and resources as well as civil society resources (such as schools, colleges, hospitals, voluntary groups, NGOs, etc.), prepare a report about the situation with remedial suggestions, submit it to the relevant MCGM and Government departments, make it available on the MCGM website, and update basic information periodically  

9. To inform LACGs and the NGO Council suitably in advance about MCGM’s proposed activities 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.  

10. To provide Enforcement Squads / Nuisance Detectors when required by LACGs for enforcement of any MCGM Rules, and to incorporate LACGs in Enforcement Squads (if the LACG so desires) to assist in enforcement of relevant Rules  

11. To organise training and capacity building programmes for its own officers / employees as well as citizens who are participating in LACGs  

12. To publish and distribute, at its cost, a monthly newsletter in association with the NGO Council regarding LACG activities and related matters  

13. To pay an honorarium to LACGs who undertake to carry out reporting and monitoring functions for MCGM on a regular basis as may be decided by the Apex LACG Committee  

14. To give awards, certificates, prizes to LACGs, voluntary organisations, individual volunteers and MCGM employees for exemplary contribution to the success of LACGs and the MCGM – LACG partnership  

15. To amend various circulars where required to give effect to the working of the LACG partnership as outlined herein and as decided by the Apex LACG Committee as and when required. (The Local Area Citizens’ Committee (LACC) circular no. AMC / C / 8178 / gen. dated 22.11.04 will become null and void from 31 May 2006.)  

16. To share publicly all such information that MCGM is required to or intends to by making it available via all Ward Offices, the MCGM website, the NGO Council, and www.karmayog.org for which an MoU has been signed with MCGM  

17. To carry out any other obligatory responsibility as decided by the Apex LACG Committee as and when required  

18. To make suitable payments for specific responsibilities / assignments which the LACGs agree to undertake on behalf of the MCGM which require funds.  

6.2 Support via an Agency Agreement

LACGs that form a Co-operative Society will be authorised to enter into an Agency Agreement under which the following support will be provided by MCGM amongst other support:

1. To authorise LACGs to act as Agents of MCGM for various purposes as may be approved by MCGM.
   
2. To authorise LACGs to collect and keep administrative charges or user fees as Agents of MCGM in lieu of penalties from offenders as specified in the relevant Rules / Guidelines, or schemes approved by MCGM.
   
3. 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 suggested by the Apex LACG Committee and approved by the Standing Committee of MCGM.

Note: a) MCGM may consider schemes for co-operative societies which cover an area less than the area of a LACG, if it finds any proposal in this regard viable.

    b) Such Model Agency Agreements can also be entered into by citizen groups representing a smaller area.

6.3 Support via the Nodal Officer  

A Nodal Officer will be appointed for each of the 227 Councillor Wards by MCGM.  

These Nodal Officers will be from MCGM employees at the Ward level, such as the Assistant Engineer (Maintenance), Assistant Head Supervisor, Assistant Engineer (Environment), Licence Inspector, Pest Control Officers, Assistant Engineer (Building & Factory), Assistant Engineer (Water), Junior Overseer, Community Development Officers, etc.  

The obligatory responsibilities of the Nodal Officer will be:  

1. To facilitate the formation and registration of LACGs, and be responsible for the coordination, facilitation, documentation and review of LACGs
2. To ensure that the Complaint Officer at Ward Level enters all complaints / suggestions / feedback received into the computerised system
3. To prepare Action Taken Reports on complaints / suggestions and Minutes
4. To conduct and follow up on Councillor Ward meetings
5. To prepare reports / inputs for higher level meetings
6. To facilitate and undertake joint mapping and also joint reporting with LACGs where necessary
7. To liaise with various Government Agencies
8. Any other assigned work

Where an LACG is formed or otherwise, the Nodal Officer will also be responsible for facilitating citizen interaction with MCGM. He/she will be the contact point for citizens for information, guidance, feedback on MCGM related matters, and will assist citizens in recording and redressing complaints / suggestions.

6.4 Support via the Chief Nodal Officer

A Chief Nodal Officer for LACGs will be appointed to oversee the functioning of the LACG partnership and to coordinate the working of the Nodal Officers. The Chief Nodal Officer will be the Deputy Municipal Commissioner (General Administration) at the MCGM Head Office.  

The obligatory responsibilities of the Chief Nodal Officer will be:  

1. To facilitate the training and capacity building of the 227 Nodal Officers appointed
2. To facilitate the Nodal Officers in their work
3. To follow up on all LACG meetings and to attend all meetings at Zonal level and higher
4. To convene the bi-monthly Apex LACG Committee meetings, that are chaired by the Municipal Commissioner
5. To prepare reports / inputs for the Apex Committee meetings
6. To coordinate with the NGO Council
7. To facilitate the periodic review of the functioning of the LACG partnership, and MCGM-LACG interactions, and to organise the Apex level reviews.
8. to prepare annual appraisals of Nodal Officers
9. To ensure that the citizen complaint / suggestion mechanism as well as other systems required for the LACG Partnership are functioning smoothly.
10. Any other designated work  

6.5 Support via the Apex LACG Committee  

An Apex LACG Committee will be formed comprising the Municipal Commissioner, all Additional Municipal Commissioners, Chief Nodal Officer, 5 NGO Council representatives, and 5 LACG representatives, as its members.  

The LACG representatives in the Apex LACG Committee will be initially selected by the Municipal Commissioner.  

The Committee will have the following roles and responsibilities:  

1. To formulate policies and procedures pertaining to the LACG partnership including a Model Agency Agreement and Agency Schemes
2. To devise a system of monitoring and reporting for LACGs & MCGM
3. To undertake periodic reviews of the functioning of the LACG partnership, and MCGM-LACG interactions
4. To set up committees and support systems for the LACG partnership as and when required
5. To solve problems of LACGs and resolve disputes
6. To specify the role of LACGs during disasters and other emergencies
7. To recommend budgetary provisions for LACG working
8. To fulfil other roles and responsibilities as and when required  

7. Mechanism of MCGM and LACG engagement

7.1 Complaint mechanism for citizens and LACGs after June 1, 2006  

a) Complaints by individual citizens:

1. Individual citizens can complain via phone, fax or letter (to the Complaint Officer at Administrative Ward level) or via the internet.
2. The Complaint Officer will enter all complaints into a central computerised system that generates a tracking number, unless not desired by the complainant.
3. Citizens are advised to meet the Nodal Officer if a complaint is not addressed within the time period specified in the Citizen Charter on the MCGM website.
4. Unresolved complaints will be taken up at the appropriate forum: Councillor Ward meeting, Ward meeting, Zonal meeting, Head Office meeting, etc. as per the MCGM – LACG meeting procedure mentioned in Clause 7.2.
5. Copies of direct complaints to MCGM by citizens may be accessible / routed to the concerned LACG. The citizen’s name and contact details will not be revealed to the LACG.

b) Complaints by LACGs

1.      All LACGs shall make complaints online via their unique registration number, or follow the mechanism for citizen complaints stated earlier if they can not do it online.

2.      The Nodal Officer shall track and be responsible for ensuring that action is taken in respect of complaints.

3.      Complaints, if not addressed within the time frame specified under the Citizen Charter, and suggestions, will be taken up at the fortnightly Councillor Ward meetings and thereafter as per the MCGM – LACG meeting procedure mentioned in Clause 7.2.

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

7.2 Meeting Schedule

All complaints will have to be formally recorded with the Complaint Officer at Ward Level or entered into the computerised system, before being taken up at any level for redressal. Thereafter these will be taken up at the following meetings at successively higher levels, until resolved, irrespective of whether there is an LACG or not in that area.

·         Meetings at the 227 Councillor Wards with the Nodal Officer and Councillor: for issues that remain unresolved within the time specified in the Citizen Charter. Frequency: Fortnightly. 

·         Meetings at the 24 Administrative Wards with the Assistant Municipal Commissioner (Ward Officer): for issues that remain unresolved even after 2 Councillor Ward meetings. Frequency: Fortnightly.

·         Meetings at the 6 Zones with the Deputy Municipal Commissioner: for issues that remain unresolved even after 2 Ward meetings. Frequency: Fortnightly.

·         Meetings at the Additional Municipal Commissioner Level: for issues that remain unresolved. Frequency: Monthly. (Note: There are 4 Additional Municipal Commissioners and the city is divided geographically into three regions and by civic issue amongst them. The meetings will be held by the Additional Municipal Commissioner in charge of the City, Western Suburbs, and Eastern Suburbs respectively.)

·         Meetings of the Apex LACG Committee at the MCGM Head Office: for issues that remain unresolved. Frequency: Once in two months

Table 1: LACG meeting schedule:                                                                

a) Notes regarding invitees / attendees:

1.      All meetings are for members / invitees only (as specified in Table 1 above).

2.      While every owner / occupier of an LACG area is a member of the LACG, he/she has, however, to be officially represented (in meetings, etc.) either through the representative of the physical entity to which he / she belongs (such as a co-operative housing society) or in situations where such physical demarcations are not possible (e.g. in slums), through the representative of an organised / registered group of those individuals. (e.g. residents association of the slum / rahvasi sangh, etc.)

3.      Affected citizens / citizen groups, complainants, and experts, shall also be invited to meetings whenever required to ensure that their point of view is adequately taken into account and recorded.

4.      Existing registered active ALMs covering smaller areas (who have not registered as LACGs) can be invited to Councillor Ward meetings.

5.      MCGM will invite other Government agencies (such as the Police, MMRDA, MHADA, Railways, Port Trust, etc.) to meetings where required.

6.      For meetings at Zonal level and higher, LACGs and NGO Council will devise a system to nominate members from amongst LACGs so as to maintain a manageable number of participants in such meetings.

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

8.      NGOs and Associations representing the interests of hawkers and slum dwellers in any LACG area in a Councillor’s Ward may be included as invitees to regular Councillor Ward meetings or special meetings on any particular subject of relevance and higher level meetings if they are not adequately represented by the LACGs.

9.      Invitees may be invited only for that item of the agenda of a meeting that concerns them.

b) Notes regarding meeting procedures:

1.      Meetings are for deciding a course of action for unresolved complaints, suggestions for civic improvement, and for reviewing the Action Taken Reports.

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

3.      Preparation of the Meeting agenda, recording of Joint Minutes, and preparation of Action Taken Reports will be done by the Nodal officer and a nominee of the LACGs / NGO Council. These will be maintained and shared publicly and submitted to the concerned LACG, appropriate levels in MCGM, and the NGO Council. The format of the Minutes will be suitable for integration into a Management Information System as and when such a MIS system is developed.

4.      The proposed mechanisms for MCGM and LACG engagement can be evolved further as and when required.

c) Code of Conduct for Meetings:

1.      To follow the agenda of the meeting

2.      To seek the permission of the Chair before raising issues other than those stated in the agenda

3.      To refrain from disrupting a meeting and to leave the meeting on being asked to if doing so

4.      To refrain from making political speeches and discussions at a meeting

5.      To follow the clauses of the Charter of the MCGM-LACG Partnership

7.3. Procedure to deal with different types of civic issues  

1. Regular Civic issues, e.g. repair of pavements or tree planting, will be resolved via the meeting schedule in Clause 7.2 above.

2. Open House Meetings will also be held at the Administrative Wards by the Ward Officer every quarter for all citizens in that Ward for suggestions, brainstorming, etc.  

3. Urgent Civic issues, e.g. due to disasters and outbreak of diseases, will be resolved via a Fast-Track method of engagement with MCGM. This will be via meetings involving affected LACGs with successively higher MCGM officials quickly till the matter is resolved, or by any other quicker method.  

4.      Besides the LACG meetings detailed in Clause 7.2, there can also be specific meetings by MCGM at appropriate levels for overall civic issues for the city e.g. Solid Waste Management planning for entire city, hawker regulations, parking and traffic regulations, etc.; as well as meetings for different purposes such as for information dissemination, for projects that span across several LACGs (such as mega-transport or sewerage projects); for generating ideas; etc.

5.      Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the Assistant Commissioner, or any other MCGM official, may hold meetings with various citizen groups whenever it is found useful to do so, whether there are LACGs in that area or not.

8. Procedure for Applying for, Registering and De-registering an LACG    

8.1) Application and selection of an LACG  

1. Any citizen group interested in forming an LACG should inform the Ward Officer / Nodal Officer of their intent at the earliest.  

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

3. To apply for Registration of the LACG, the citizen group must make an application via a standard form as per Annexure 1 (available at the MCGM website and at the Ward Office).  

4. Applications for registering an LACG are to be submitted to the Ward Office with a copy to the NGO Council.  

5. Applications for LACG formation will be received over a period of two months initially, which is the familiarisation period. Thereafter approved LACGs will be given Registration within one month, by the Nodal Officer, as per policies laid down herein and as specified by the Apex LACG Committee.  

6. On completion of the 2 month familiarisation period, new applications for LACG formation may be submitted but will not be processed for a further period of 4 months for any area (including unrepresented areas), during which time, MCGM will set up supporting infrastructure to facilitate smooth working of the LACG partnership.  

7. If an applicant is willing to cover the entire geographical area demarcated for that LACG area, then that applicant will be preferred for registration as the LACG for that area. An applicant should have well distributed support over the LACG area. An applicant can not claim to represent the entire area if representatives of a large area object.  

8. 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. Such LACGs will be encouraged to form a combined LACG.  

9. When any of these Provisionally Registered LACGs expand to cover the entire demarcated LACG area, or a joint / merged group comes forward to cover the entire demarcated LACG area, then the Registration of that entity will be made final, after other LACGs in that area are given a month to also come forward to do so.  

10. In case of more than one application to form an LACG for the same area, the applicant LACGs will be encouraged to form a combined LACG. Failing which the selection of the LACG for the area will be on the basis of record of credentials e.g. of constructive activities in the area that led to any civic improvement.  Reasons for choosing one applicant over another will be made public.   

11. No time limit will be given for forming a co-operative society but a new group which gets registered as a co-operative society with the necessary credentials and support may be approved to replace any provisionally registered group because co-operative society formation is necessary before any agency function or payments can be given by MCGM. Reasons will be stated in writing and made public.  

12. 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 two years.  

13. Upon Provisional or Final Registration, appropriate Identity Cards will be issued to five LACG Committee Members for two years.  

14.  New applications for LACG formation (after the completion of the first year of this scheme) for area where LACGs already exist with full coverage, will be received every year in February and approval will be given in March for the next financial year i.e. April to March.  

15. If an LACG withdraws / resigns or is de-registered for any reason, then that area will be considered as an unrepresented area and the relevant procedure for new LACG registration will be applicable.  

16. List of Registered LACGs will be displayed publicly along with their Application Forms in part or in entirety.  

Table 2: –Schedule for Receiving & Processing of LACG applications

There are 3 types of geographical areas in an LACG unit:

a)     Unrepresented i.e. no LACG

b)     Partially or fully covered by one or more LACGs

c)     Fully covered by one LACG  

8. 2) Functioning of an LACG:  

1. An LACG must form a Committee of 5-9 persons that undertakes to take a leadership role for an LACG. MCGM will provide I-Cards to 5 persons, including the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
2. Members of an LACG Committee may hold office for a period of 2 years, after which the LACG members have to internally elect / select new Committee members or re-elect / re-select the existing ones.
3. The LACG Committee must meet at least once a month, and Minutes of such meetings must be maintained and circulated to the supporting entities of that LACG.
4. The LACG Committee must ensure that one representative attends the Councillor Ward meetings every fortnight. Failure to attend 4 consecutive Councillor Ward meetings may result in the suspension of that LACG Committee, and a new Committee will have to be formed. The registration of the LACG may also be revoked after a warning notice.
5. The LACG Committee must conduct a public meeting of all citizens in their area at least once in 3 months. The Nodal Officer shall be an Invitee. The minutes shall be filed with the Nodal Officer.
6. Work done by an LACG must be documented as it will form part of the individual annual review of the LACG.
7. All occupiers / owners of premises in an LACG area will automatically be members of the LACG of an area and will be governed by the internal functioning of that LACG including payment of a monthly contributory amount to the LACG for its functioning as may be decided by the members.  

8.3) Cancellation of an LACG Registration  

1.      If representatives of an LACG attending meetings repeatedly violate the Code of Conduct as specified in Clause 7.2 (c), they may be asked to send alternative representatives, failing which, the LACG Registration may be cancelled.

2.      If complaints are received against an LACG Committee, and verified by MCGM, the LACG will have to form a new Committee within a month, failing which, the LACG Registration may be cancelled.

3.      If an LACG Committee fails to perform as indicated through the review mechanism of Clause 9, the LACG Registration may be cancelled.

4. In all these cases, it is the Nodal Officer who will recommend the de-registration of an LACG with reasons thereof in writing and the final decision regarding the same will be taken by the concerned Additional Municipal Commissioner after giving a hearing to the concerned LACG. The reasons for de-registration will be made public.  

9. Review of Working of the LACG Partnership  

a) Review of individual LACGs:  

i)                    All LACGs will be required to submit six-monthly reports in a specified format.

ii)                  LACG working to be also reviewed every quarter 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 to be held by the LACG.

iii)                 The Apex LACG Committee will set up systems for yearly reviews of individual LACGs.  

b) Review of MCGM support and response to LACGs:

i)                    LACG members attending Councillor Ward and Administrative Ward meetings may be invited to fill rating and feedback forms for review by the Additional Municipal Commissioners.  

 c) Overall Review:

i)                    The overall working of the MCGM-LACG partnership will be monitored and reviewed by the Apex LACG Committee annually covering areas such as MCGM’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 publicly shared, unless confidential.  

Annexure 1: Application Format for Local Area Citizen Group Registration

as per Charter of the MCGM – Local Area Citizen Group Partnership 2006

(form and plan available at Ward Office)

To be submitted to the Ward Office with a copy to the NGO Council

Form subject to change without notice

Filled application forms may be made public by MCGM / NGO Council
1^st April 2006

For internal use:     

          Approved / Rejected:

          Designation, Signature, Date:

          If approved, Full / Part LACG area:

                           LACG Name & Number:

          If rejected, reasons thereof:  

To be filled by Applicant (i.e. Proposed LACG):

A. Contact Details of the Applicant (all fields compulsory):

Name of the Proposed LACG: e.g.: (          ) Local Area Citizen Group, i.e.

                                                Ekta Colony LACG

Address for correspondence:

Name of contact person:

Email:

Tel. no.:

Fax, if any:

If this is an application from an existing ALM, RWA, VAR, CBO, NGO, Trade Association, etc., please specify the name of that organisation:    

B. Location of the LACG:

Administrative Ward: example R(S)

Councillor Ward No.: e.g. 141

Local Area Citizen Group No. (from map): e.g. (7)

Local Area: e.g. Ekta Colony

Coverage (full / part):

C. Geographical Coverage of the LACG:

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

Is entire LACG area as demarcated by MCGM being covered? Yes/ No

If ‘No’, please specify boundaries (e.g. roads) of the area proposed to be covered, and mark the same on an attached plan.

North:

East:

South:

West:

D. Activities Proposed to be undertaken:

Please list a minimum of 3 activities proposed to be undertaken by the LACG in the area. Please indicate briefly what you would like to do.

1.

2.

3.

E. Any other information:

F. Details of Committee members:

(For issue of Identity Cards, please enclose 2 passport-size photographs of each Committee member, with name and signature at the back)

Details of 5 persons who will be part of the LACG Committee:

1. Designation: Chairperson

    Name: Mr./Ms./Dr.

    Address in locality:

    Contact No.: home:

                      office:

                        cell:

Email 1:

Email 2:

Two line profile:

2. Designation: Honorary Secretary

    Name: Mr./Ms./Dr.

    Address in locality:

    Contact No.: home:

                      office:

                        cell:

Email 1:

Email 2:

Two line profile:

3. Designation: Treasurer

    Name: Mr./Ms./Dr.

    Address in locality:

    Contact No.: home:

                      office:

                        cell:

Email 1:

Email 2:

Two line profile:

4. Designation: 

    Name: Mr./Ms./Dr.

    Address in locality:

    Contact No.: home:

                      office:

                        cell:

Email 1:

Email 2:

Two line profile:

5. Designation:

    Name: Mr./Ms./Dr.

    Address in the locality:

    Contact No.: home:

                      office:

                        cell:

Email 1:

Email 2:

Two line profile:

(The following 3 attachments are to be enclosed separately in the specified format)  

Attachment 1: Details of Support from authorised representatives of owners/occupiers of physical entities in the LACG area: (attach separately)  

Supporting documents such as photographs, press clippings may also be attached. (Examples: housing societies / residential complexes, schools, colleges and institutions, etc.)

@ = Signature confirms support to the LACG, and acceptance of the LACG Charter

Attachment 2. Details of Support from up to 5 organisations / associations which are active in the LACG area: (attach separately)

Examples: Advanced Locality Managements, Non-Governmental Organisations, Resident Welfare Associations, Community Based Organisations, Dattak Vasti Yojanas, Merchant Traders Associations, etc. Supporting documents such as photographs, press clippings may also be attached.

@ = Signature confirms support to the LACG, and acceptance of the LACG Charter

Attachment 3: Details of Past Activities, if any, (upto 5) undertaken in the area by supporting organisations: (attach separately)  

Supporting documents such as photographs, press clippings may also be attached.

@ = Signature confirms support to the LACG, and acceptance of the LACG Charter

Undertaking  

We have read the MCGM – Local Area Citizen Group Partnership Charter 2006 and accept and agree to abide by the same and as and when modified. 

All that is stated in the Application Form is true to the best of our knowledge and belief.

Signed:  

Chairperson               Honorary Secretary                    Treasurer / Member