A.  Civic Services and "ALMs"

B.  AGNI JAAG-MCGM Workshops

C.  Clean & Green Mumbai

D.  Swachchha Mumbai Abhiyaan

E.  Girgaum Chowpatty Beach Project

F.  Averting Municipal Strikes

G.  ELECTION WATCH

H.  Disaster Relief

I.  Training of Coordinators and Volunteers

J.  Training of Students

K.  Right to Information

L.  "Meet Your Police" Events

M.  Electoral reforms at the national level

AGNI started out by tackling civic services with the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) and citizen groups. Soon it was facilitating formation of Advanced Locality Management (ALM) groups. An ALM is the MCGM's own framework for citizen participation in civic work. It is meant to provide single window access to all services managed by the Ward Office.

Success stories are numerous eg drains in Kurla left open and uncleared for 30 years which were cleaned; encroachments in Wadala and elsewhere and bad traffic routing. Garbage clearance, water supply, the condition of roads and pavements and illegal building have also been addressed by AGNI JAAGs.

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MCGM Ward and headquarters officials and AGNI JAAG representatives from all Wards attended a series of two-day zonal workshops at Indian Oil Bhavan. These have consolidated and enriched the partnership between citizens and the MCGM. A common understanding and joint action plans have emerged.

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Concerned with the alarming rise in pollution levels, lack of cleanliness and the rapid disappearance of trees and open spaces in the city, AGNI collaborated with college and school students and the Times of India Group to take up Cleaning and Greening Mumbai.

The project began with a two-day workshop at Lonavala involving 150 College students and programme officers besides AGNI volunteers. A "Clean and Green Mumbai" week was conceived and launched at a mass meeting. Volunteer groups were set up in 11 Wards to spread awareness before a cleaning, greening and vermi-composting operation in and around Mumbai.

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A core group of senior MCGM officers and AGNI members formulated an action plan based on data about waste generation, collection and disposal. AGNI-JAAGs promoted community participation and media notice. AGNI and MCGM organised a sensitization workshop for civic staff and AGNI. Volunteers were mobilised by AGNI at Ward level to join MCGM 'Nuisance Detector' teams and monitor clearing of garbage. Information on garbage clearance timings, control room numbers etc was spread by AGNI volunteers, who also found sponsors for litterbins and security guards.

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AGNI - JAAG in D Ward helped evolve a plan to accommodate bhelpuri stall owners on Girgaum-Chowpatty beach after courts had held the area to be recreational and for citizens. Where were stall owners to go? AGNI participated in site visits, court hearings and numerous discussions with civic authorities. Architect and urban planner Rahul Mahrotra designed a solution. It has been implemented by a court-appointed committee on which AGNI is represented.

The committee went on to implement a Master Plan for the whole beach.

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In October 2000, Municipal employee unions, demanding high bonus and ex gratia payments, went on an illegal strike, even denying citizens water supply and essential health services. Corporators passed a unanimous resolution to meet union demands. This would balloon an already serious MCGM deficit.

AGNI's Vice Chairman, Mr D. M. Sukthankar, led a citizen response, challenging the legality of the resolution in the High Court - which promptly struck it down. No bonus and ex-gratia payments were made. The following year, there was a threat of a similar strike. AGNI spread awareness of the impending danger through the media and meetings. The State government was urged to initiate action based on law (the Essential Services Maintenance Act). The strike was averted. A budgetary drain of about Rs 100 crores annually was prevented.

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As civic elections approached (February 2002), AGNI saw that citizens were largely unaware of the link between essential civic services and their votes. Aiming at a cleaner electoral process and greater public awareness on the importance of voting, AGNI launched the city's first ever "ElectionWatch." The programme included the following:

Updating Electoral Rolls

Compact discs (CDs) of the electoral rolls were procured and distributed to Coordinators. People not registered but eligible were guided to the registration offices. All information on how to register, fill forms etc was conveyed to citizens through the AGNI-JAAGs in all Wards. AGNI printed and distributed forms when required (for registration, change of names etc.). The registration offices began to function as never before.

Voter Awareness

Public meetings, press conferences and media publicity served to educate the citizens. Middle classes, always apathetic, became more aware and involved.

Citizens' Charter

A "manifesto" outlining the problems and needs of the city was drafted by AGNI and other NGOs and sent to political parties. Candidates signed the manifesto.

AGNI Pariksha

AGNI Pariksha outlining the qualities of a good candidate and a questionnaire based on it were distributed for candidates to fill up. Responses were received from many. These were shared with citizens to help them to get better informed on candidates, also to evoke candidate commitments in writing.

Meet Your Candidate (MYC) events

These were organised in virtually all parts of the city, giving citizens a chance to interact with their candidates. MYC events and questionnaires led to people making a more informed choice at the time of voting.

Meet Your Elected Representatives (MYER) events

They were held to follow up on election promises and to set a trend of dialogue and cooperation between citizens and elected representatives.

Assembly Elections

Assembly Elections were unexpectedly announced in September 1999. AGNI's response took the form of evolving Citizen Charters. Some 30 Meet Your Candidate (MYC) events were organised in the MLA constituencies. Never before had citizens interacted in this way and on this scale with candidates. People responded enthusiastically. AGNI was able to obtain written pledges from the candidates. Following the elections, Meet Your Elected Representative (MYER) programmes were held to hold MLAs to their commitments.

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In November 1999, Orissa was struck by a massive cyclone, which caused unprecedented loss of life and property. AGNI, working with Indian Oil, Bombay Times and Central Railway, set up centres for money and relief material. AGNI with its network of NGOs and volunteers manned the collection centres at fuel stations and coordinated the whole process. Over 200 tons of relief material was transported to the affected State and over Rs. 45 lakh was made over to the Times Relief Fund.

On Republic Day 2001, a devastating earthquake struck Gujarat with great loss of life, rendering thousands homeless. AGNI again joined forces with Indian Oil, HPCL and the Times of India to organise a relief drive. IOC and HP petrol stations all over the city, manned by AGNI volunteers, served as collection centres for relief materials and donations.

About Rs 36 Lakhs was collected for immediate relief of victims, along with 4,000 kitchen kits, 5000 tarpaulin shelter sheets, 100 canvas tents and 2000 woollen blankets. A team of AGNI members visited the affected areas and coordinated relief operations.

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AGNI holds training programs for its people to develop qualities of leadership, time management, effective communication, team spirit and a strong value system. A two-day workshop was conducted in June 2002 at Leslie Sawhney Centre, Deolali to develop leadership skills in tackling civic issues. AGNI coordinators learned more about the 74th Constitutional Amendment, Municipal Budget and ways in which citizens can help improve civic services.

"Project Me," the unity of success, happiness and peace, was a workshop conducted by leading management guru Y. K. Sapru in April, 02) on a balanced development of life.

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Students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the College of Social Work (Nirmala Niketan) and Sir Vithaldas Thackersey College (SNDT University) have been associated with AGNI for fieldwork training. Students said that, as a result, they were better equipped for professional practice and AGNI was assisted in establishing contact with young people and the community. Problems were identified jointly by residents and students. AGNI-JAAGs encouraged communities to work towards solutions. Citizens developed a greater sense of responsibility for their neighbourhoods.

NSS (National Students' Service) students from several colleges have been involved with AGNI's "Clean and Green Mumbai project" and "ElectionWatch." A two-day training workshop was held for these students at Lonavala. They were introduced, among other topics, to a holistic approach for fulfillment of individual goals. This was precipitated into an action plan for "Clean & Green Mumbai."

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Democracy becomes meaningful only when citizens have access to information on everything that affects their lives. Laws on the Right to Information provide a proper framework for this right.
Information encourages

• Participation of citizens in decision-making
• Transparency in governance, which greatly minimizes chances of corruption
• Accountability, which improves efficiency of government functioning

AGNI launched a citywide campaign on the Right to Information. Five detailed workshops were held between November 2002 and April 2003 to make AGNI Coordinators and volunteers aware of the Central and Maharashtra laws on the Right to Information and how to use them.


L : "Meet Your Police" events

AGNI organised public meetings in the ten police zones of Mumbai during the City Police's Public Awareness Campaign for Prevention of Crime in 2001. These meetings were attended by senior police officials of the zones and led to better understanding between citizens and police and joint action.

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AGNI represents Maharashtra in the National Campaign for Electoral Reforms (NCER), which works to cleanse the electoral process. It protested against the Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002, which curtailed the Fundamental Right to Information. The proposed amendments nullified the Supreme Court's directive and Election Commission's orders passed in May 2002, requiring candidates to reveal their police record (if any), assets, liabilities and educational background.

AGNI was part of the delegation, which met the President of India to apprise him of the retrograde provisions of the Ordinance. The President returned the Ordinance to the Cabinet for clarifications and reconsideration, and then had to sign when the Cabinet sent it to him yet again. AGNI arranged public meetings to educate the public on the serious implications of the Ordinance, which became an Act and mobilised public opinion in favour of candidate disclosures.

On a public interest petition, the Supreme Court struck down certain amendments and restored the original provisions of the Election Commission's order.

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