The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A case for policy on the role of councillors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 30, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

A case for policy on the role of councillors

Alladi Jayasri

The fact is that councillors are normally regarded as far below in the pecking order, says study

BANGALORE: Gender bias and party politics continue to rein in women's pro-active participation in governance through urban local bodies, and the one-third of the 5,004 councillors in the State's 270 urban local bodies have little space left for competition among themselves after the major share of the pie is claimed by the hierarchy within the party — the MP and the MLA.

The taluk and zilla panchayat member occupy the top rungs while the councillors are just above gram panchayat members.

The councillor goes through the experiences of these conflicts within the party structure — the party leadership regards the councillors as "soldiers" who manage the small "urban territories," and the extent of their involvement in policy matters and also their participation in the run-up to policymaking are negligible and not clearly defined, a study on Women Councillors in Karnataka by Urban Research Centre in association with the Delhi-based Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has found.

The study was conducted in Tumkur, Madikeri, Mangalore, Udupi and Hubli-Dharwad.

As Friedrich Ebert Stiftung senior advisor Damyanty Sridharan told The Hindu, experience with both urban local bodies under the 74th Amendment and panchayat raj institutions under the 73rd amendment of the Constitution has shown that political empowerment of women has largely depended on interventions and initiatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs). "However, it is often seen that the State abdicates its responsibility of sustaining the empowerment process and taking it to the logical conclusion of enablement.

"And NGOs step in to this role, defeating the real intent of being the instrument of change," Ms. Sridharan said.

However, the upside is that most women enter the urban local bodies under the reservation system, which has, at least, ensured their presence in these bodies.

The fact is that the councillors, whether men or women, are normally regarded as far below in the pecking order, and do not require recognition or acknowledgement, and these members also find it difficult to make themselves heard indeed.

Urban Research Centre's secretary, Gururaja Budhya, points out that the "missing link" of orientation between party diktat and the call of duty as councillors, places women in a dilemma.

After several stages of study, mostly in Mangalore and Udupi, Urban Research Centre, which worked with 45 women councillors last year, says there is a case for a policy from the Government meant for all councillors that defines the role of party members who become councillors.

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