Author: Stephen David
Publication: India Today
Date: May 10, 2004
Introduction: A bank official and
his wife seek to improve governance by ensuring active public participation
At 39, Ramesh Ramanathan couldn't
have asked for more. As managing director of Citibank, Europe, he had scaled
the peak of a rewarding career in a short span of time. His wife Swati
was equally accomplished-a trained architect from Pratt Institute, New
York-and together they made for an enviable couple, a point that was often
talked about in the high-profile society dos that they were invariably
invited to.
Glamorous as the veneer appeared,
the Bangalore- based Ramanathans were afflicted by a rare restlessness.
Cutting through the cackle of the cocktail circuit, they would find themselves
reflecting on some widely accepted truths. When others, for instance, spoke
about how red tape and corruption had become rampant and how the man on
the street could do little about it, the duo could not resign themselves
to accepting that it was a hopelessly irreversible situation. The common
man, they firmly felt, had the right to a better life, a right that was
not being effectively exercised.
Taking it upon themselves to do
their bit, the Ramanathans decided to launch Janaagraha, an NGO, with the
objective of improving the quality of public governance through participatory
democracy. They sought to provide a platform for citizens to constructively
engage with their elected representatives on specific issues. Given that
it was a mammoth task, Ramanathan even gave up his bank job to set up a
trust that could run the NGO. The first project that Janaagraha undertook
was to improve the functioning of the Bangalore City Corporation (bcc)
with the public having a say in its budgetary allocations. "The only way
to ensure a robust system of financial management in the corporation is
to rip the accounting system inside out," says Ramanathan.
Janaagraha took up ward works in
67 of the city's 100 wards as these fell under the decentralised portion
of BCC's budget and citizens could play a role in the allocation of money
for roads, drainage and footpaths. Nearly Rs 50 crore is earmarked for
ward works. Besides, 2,500 of the 3500 resident associations contacted
have responded with ideas for projects and their costs.
"It is high time the Government
and civic groups started leveraging their strengths with each other," says
M.R. Sreenivasa Murthy, bcc commissioner. Many in bcc have, however, accused
the Ramanathans of interference. Unfazed, they continue to work. The Prestige
Group and the Rotary Club of Bangalore Midtown recently awarded them the
Citizen Extraordinaire Award "for contributing their mite to make Bangalore
a better place". Acknowledgement of the good work they are doing will surely
spur them on.
