Karnataka had ward committees on paper for many years, but they have not truly arrived yet. Thanks to enormous public pressure and proactive leadership of then Bengaluru Mayor and Commissioner of the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the ward committees started functioning since November 2018 but in bits and pieces.
The power of decentralised urban governance is well understood but it has not been top of the agenda. The speed of destruction caused by the pandemic is making people everywhere look at local solutions and Karnataka already has a framework in place.
If the BBMP takes ward committees seriously and empowers them to make local decisions, we can not only defeat Covid-19 sooner but also strengthen our governance.
Success of ward committees for Covid management depends on a few factors: presence of active citizens who represent the diverse groups in the ward, a strong leader (Corporator or Nodal Officer), and how quickly information travels before it leads to action.
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