The Karnataka edition of ‘My City My Responsibility — A Handbook for Active Citizenship’ prepared by the Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy was released in the city on Sunday.
The handbook offers guidance on addressing civic issues through formal and informal citizen collectives. It helps citizens identify the status of ward committees in their cities and provides a comprehensive set of actions to ensure that these committees achieve their full potential.
The handbook details the organisation and functioning of city governments and ward committees and provides a framework for using social media to address civic issues.
“The handbook serves as a detailed manual for proactive citizenship, guiding individuals through the stages of evolving from passive onlookers to curious individuals, involved members, and ultimately, proactive citizens. Its main objective is to enable citizens to transform into civic leaders who work in tandem with government bodies to bring about constructive developments in our local communities and cities,” Janaagraha said.
“No government can alone tackle the large-scale challenges such as global climate change, law and order, women’s safety, and public health without citizens’ cooperation and active participation. Our government is committed to providing immediate relief to common people’s problems by operationalising the participatory forums of area sabhas and ward committees in all the city corporations of Karnataka,” said B.S. Suresh, Minister for Urban Development.
“The handbook is our attempt to provide active citizens in India’s cities with an easy-to-use guide on citizen participation. We can transform the quality of life in India’s cities only if every community in every neighbourhood is actively participating in planning, budgeting, and service delivery in their neighbourhoods through formal platforms like ward committees and area sabhas,” said Srikanth Vishwanathan, CEO, Janaagraha.
Those interested can download the handbook from the website of Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy.
