Delhi to set up 2,972 mohalla sabhas to empower public

In a bid to empower the common man, the Delhi Cabinet on Thursday decided to set up 2,972 mohalla sabhas in all 70 assembly constituencies in the national capital.

Mohalla sabhas will coordinate with different government agencies for the execution of developmental works, identify and facilitate beneficiaries for different social sector schemes such as old-age pension and solve grievances with the help of local officers.

Additionally, local institutions including schools, anganwadis, public distribution system shops etc. will be made accountable to the mohalla sabhas.

All registered voters will be members of their respective mohalla sabha which will have two coordinators to organise and facilitate monthly meeting.

"The idea is to empower the citizens to discuss, deliberate and decide on the works to be undertaken in their locality," a Delhi government statement said.

The government conducted a pilot project of mohalla sabhas in 11 districts of the national capital last year.

According to the official statement, a detailed ground survey was held for the delimitation of mohalla sabhas based on inputs from locals, public representatives and officials concerned.

The local residents have been delegated the power to take decisions under the Citizen Local Area Development (C-LAD) fund or 'Swaraj Nidhi' for developmental works in their areas.

"GIS (Geographical Information System) mapping of each constituency was done by a dedicated team of experts using satellite maps. Data was collected during the ground survey through 'My Tracks' -- a smart phone app -- to ensure precision in delimitation", the statement said.

Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia had announced the provision of Rs 350 crore under the Citizen-LAD scheme for 2016-17, which will be equally distributed among all 2,972 mohalla sabhas.

The government has also signed an MoU with Janagraha, a Bangalore-based organisation specialising in citizen participation platforms, for the development of a dedicated software for the mohalla sabhas.

--IANS

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