Mohalla sabhas get Cabinet stamp

All-India Mahila Congress workers protest against price rise outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: Biplab Banerjee)

To push its mohalla sabha initiative which enables locals to have a say in civic projects undertaken in their respective areas, the Cabinet on Thursday approved their formation in all the 70 Assembly constituencies across the city. The 2,969 mohalla sabhas created by the city government will be empowered to decide on the developmental works in their respective areas. On an average, each of these sabhas will cover 3,000-6,000 population and three polling booths. These sabhas would be geographically contiguous and consist of a group of polling stations, depending upon the size and geography of the area. The move assumes significance in the run-up to the municipal polls scheduled for April 2017 as it may help the AAP to increase its presence in all the 272 municipal wards.

Each mohalla will have a unique four digit number based on the Assembly constituency number and the mohalla number. The first two digits will indicate the constituency number and the next two digits will show the mohalla sabha number within that constituency. Each district will have around 300-350 mohalla sabhas.

One Assembly constituency will comprise of at least 40 mohalla sabhas. Through these sabhas, people can make suggestions to the government as to what projects should be taken up in their localities as per their respective requirements. Only those registered as voters at the polling centres where mohalla sabhas are held can take part in the exercise. MLAs will also contribute from their Rs 4 crore fund to implement the decisions taken at these public meetings.

The Cabinet proposal said: “Mohalla Sabhas were envisioned as a local unit of governance which would not only empower the community by giving decision-making powers, but will also help in making the governance and delivery of services efficient and transparent in nature. At mohalla level, it is proposed to have two mohalla coordinators and at least one of them should be a female. The coordinator would be paid Rs 5,000 per month to meet transportation and other expenses. Expenditure for publicity, dissemination of information, printing and distribution of pamphlets, arrangement of meetings will be Rs 1.20 lakh per annum per mohalla.”